Icy Lips, Burnt Heart
by StarArrow
Summary: Raised by the famous Justice League, Elle now has to go to school on Earth at everybody's favorite super school. Mishaps and mayham follow her and her new friends as she tries to uncover a secret plot and her feelings for a certain pyro. WOC,WL,MZ.Enjoy!
1. To Earth I Go

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**Summary: She was an ice girl out of her element. Raised by the famous Justice League, Elle now has to attend school for the first time in her life, and it just happens to be at everyones favorite superhero high. WarrenOC, MZ, WL.**

**I'm going to try my hardest to not make my OC a primo super with a gazillion powers and have a boyfriend in two days. If I get off track I give you all full permission to yell and scream at me via review. I have mixed the Justice League Unlimited in with this in the beginning and a little toward the middle, and they are a bit AU at times. I do not own any of the characters of than Elle. Enjoy!**

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Chapter One

**~To Earth I Go~**

"I'm not going, Clark."

"Yes you are, Elle." The tall man standing over me said bluntly, his red cape billowing in the frosty air. "You _will _get on that ship. You _will _fly back down to Earth. You _will _attend school like a normal teenager. And you will **not **try to get sent home."

" Clark, maybe we are taking this the wrong way. She did save Bruce. All of us really." Finally, a voice of reason. Diana placed a calming hand on Clark's blue clad shoulder. " We have to be reasonable with this."

Clark gave her a level look. I hated that look. It could kill. His response was nearly a growl. "Diana. She froze the entire space station." I blushed. They were thawing out the west wing as we spoke.

Diana glared back at him with her piercing blue eyes. "She didn't mean for that to happen and you know it. We have all made mistakes when one of our own is in trouble. If I had her power, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing."

"She is a child. She doesn't know what she is doing and we don't have the time or resources to help her." Clark told her, his voice rising. I could feel the wind of a full blow argument just waiting behind their glares. All I could do was sit and wait for them to get distracted in their own argument to escape. "The command center is continuously being targeted for alien attack. Today, she got lucky. What if she had gotten hit with one of those rays? You saw what happened to Bruce. Can you imagine what would happen to a sixteen-year-old girl hit with a full blast? No one wants to see her get hurt."

"We can't just ship her off to some normal school. Would that help anything?" Diana argued. I could tell she was running out of things to nit-pic about.

"It worked for me." Clark muttered angrily. That did it. Diana, looking magnificent in her Wonder Woman garb, pulled herself to full height.

"Listen here, we all did not have the wonderful opportunities in our life. We did not grow up in perfect little Smallville." This was the chance I had been waiting for. Once you set Diana off, you better just hang on tight because you were in for a trip, a very painful trip. I almost felt sorry for Clark as I slipped out the door and made my way to the infirmary. Bruce was laying in the bed closest to the window. He turned his head when he heard me come in and gave me a sleepy smile.

"Hey, kid. How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice groggy from the medicine. His uniform was laying over a chair next to the bed. I shifted the garment to the floor fell into the seat, exhausted. Bruce smirked. "You look awful."

"Go look in the mirror." I retorted playfully. Bruce had always been my favorite. He acted more like an older brother than a parent. Leaving him would hurt more than the rest of my family if I were to go back to Earth. In all respects, he was my best friend, even if he was a little moody every now and then.

" I wish I could. J'onn said I am hooked up to this thing for tonight, just in case something happens." He said holding up an arm that was adorned by a couple needles on cords leading to the machine at the headboard. His other arm I noticed, was wrapped in bandages. He looked like he had definitely seen better days. His right eye was swollen to the point it wouldn't open and his lip was busted, still oozing blood.

"They are debating sending me to school on Earth." I told him, resting my head on my arm and leaning against the side bar of the hospital bed. He frowned and nodded.

"I figured they would get around to that thought eventually. I had a discussion with Clark a couple months ago about your training." He confessed.

"Traitor." I murmured, pulling his cape around me as a blanket. As an ice girl, you would think I wouldn't get cold. No such luck. I am always freezing.

"You really should hang out with people your age. You have been stuck all your life with crabby old men and women." Bruce said trying to persuade me to look to a better side of things.

"Bruce, you are only twenty-nine. That really isn't that old. " I reminded him.

"I didn't include myself in that statement." He informed me, trying to smile, only causing more blood to drip out of the wound. I sighed as I sat back in silence, attempting a smile for his sake.

I looked up from my perch into the large window across the bed that reflected against its dark, starry background. My silvery white hair was disheveled and a long, clean scratch ran from my jaw to my collarbone. I could see my silver eyes reflecting off the glass, piercing into me. Even Bruce was on their side. Diana was my only hope, and she was only saying no because she didn't think I needed to be put in a 'normal' school. I could always go back to Smallville, Gotham, or Metropolis. The Kents, Alfred, or Lois could take care of me. But, I didn't really want that. Stupid powers. All they ever did was get me in trouble.

"Did they tell you what I did?" I asked to break the silence that had settled, knowing J'onn had probably not said anything.

" No, Diana hasn't come to see me yet." He said, laying his head back against the pillow. The fool was utterly in love with her, and she with him, but neither would admit it. Idiots.

"She and Clark are fighting." I told him, thinking back to the two in the other room. I was amazed Clark had not come flying though the wall yet. "Clark thinks I went too far out of line."

"I'm not complaining about that." he said happily, looking down at his bandaged arm." Tell me what happened. I was unconscious though your heroic escapade."

"Well, you know there where a bunch of ugly, green, skeletal people running around, don't you?" He nodded, gesturing for me to proceed. " I could hear them from my room, and Flash had already run by to tell me to stay inside. Then I heard an explosion and the next thing I knew I was thrown to the back of my room and staring out a huge hole in the wall in front of me.

"Then I saw you. Laying there on the far side of the hall, an alien standing over you with a g-gun to you head." My voice broke. I saw my best friend on the verge of death, not the greatest vision. "I put up an ice shield around you just as he fired, but it didn't go up fast enough. That's what happened to your arm. I'm so sorry, Bruce. I tr.."

He put up a hand to stop me. " You saved me, I couldn't ask for anything more. Now tell me what happened next. I know they are thawing out the halls."

I blushed dark crimson and went on. " I saw your arm 'melt', I guess is what you would call it, and I sort of just...went crazy." I said, throwing my hands in the air exasperatedly. There were times, as Bruce knew, I had no control over my power. "I looked up and everything was ice and I was the only one who could move. If I had unfroze everything then, I would have unfrozen the aliens, too. I had to go around one at a time and unfreeze everybody. Then they sat me down and started yelling."

Bruce nodded and relaxed back into the pillow with a look of deep thought. When he did speak, it wasn't the words I wanted to hear.

"Go get Clark and Diana and tell them I want to talk with them." He told me with a mysterious glint in his eye. "My Wayne Enterprises connection might be helpful with finding a school."

"I am not going to school." I grumbled, but I stomped out of the room anyway.

They were still fighting. Clark was now in my chair, Diana standing over him as he had me. Serves him right. Clark jumped up when he saw me and Diana quit preaching long enough to look up.

"Bruce says he wants to see both of you and that Wayne Enterprises can help me somehow." I said. Both just stared at me. Grown-ups. "Bruce. Infirmary. Talk."

Both started moving. Sometimes, as amazingly heroic as some of the people in this space station are, they just need a dose of common sense.

Glancing out the window as we entered Maxville, I could see that this was one of those towns you see in movies. Quiet neighborhood, kids on bike, backyard barbecue's, that kind of thing. We stopped in front of a nice house that looked nearly the same as the all others. There was more green on this one though. Plants were everywhere. It was really, very pretty, I guess. We got out of the car and I was marched up to the front door prison style. It literally felt like a death sentence.

Diana was the first to reach the door, knocking sharply three times, she fell back with the rest of us. A boy answered. A boy? I thought they said there was a girl?

He just stared at us. Then his eyes grew wide and he got a star struck look on his face. " Your...your...your SUP-CLARK KENT!"

A red-haired girl dressed in green came up beside him, pushing him out of our line of vision. " Hi, I'm Layla." She said, holding out a hand. " You must be Elle. Good morning Mr. Kent, Mr. Wayne, Ms. Prince." (Diana Prince was Wonder Woman's alter ego.)

"Good evening." Clark answered, " Is you mother here? I'd like to talk to her before we get Elle settled in."

"Sure, I'll go get her." She said, already retreating down the hall. As an afterthought, she looked over her shoulder, " Will, can you show them the living room."

The boy, Will, came back from behind the door, slightly more composed. " Hi, I'm Will Stronghold. Come this way."

He led us to a large room with more plants, a dog, two sofas and a recliner. He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. " So, " He said looking around him, " This is Layla's living room."

He was about to say more when a woman's voice came from the stairway. "Diana! Clark! Bruce! How nice to see you all again."

Layla's mother was petite and had curly, mousy brown hair. I had seen her on occasion, when she would visit headquarters or attend one of Bruce's charity events.

" Elle, I was so happy when I heard you wanted to come live with us and go to Sky High." She told me, smiling as she wrapped me in a hug. I was never one to be mothered. Sure I had been hugged. A quick good-bye or a comforting squeeze. But this was a real mother hug. My heart melted ever-so-slightly to this woman.

Still, I had to force my smile in response. " I was so glad you would have me."

"It's nothing, dear." She assured me, turning to her daughter and Will. " Why don't you two show her her room. I'm sure her...butler wants to put those bags down."

" Of course, Mom." Layla agreed, hopping up from her seat on Will's knee. So, they were together. Interesting. He really didn't look like the flower-child type. Layla led us upstairs and directed Bruce's butler into the third door on the right.

" This will be your room," She told me enthusiastically. " Mine is right next door, the bathroom connects them."

It was about the same size as the room I had had at the space station. On the windows were blue gauzy curtains and silver bedsheets, which made me think that my guardians had something to do with the decorating, as those were my favorite colors. The window, I noticed, opened onto the patio roof. That could come in handy. Looking around the rest of the room, I saw a desk, vanity, and dresser. On the dresser there were picture frames. I went over to check them out and found that one was of a building, which I assumed was the school for superheroes that I would be attending, Sky High. The others were of the same group of kids. One was wearing highlighter yellow, always next to him was a goth girl in purple. Will and Layla were joined at the hip in almost every picture. A smiling boy in orange was doing something goofy in every picture. In every picture was a guy in black leather, long red-streaked black hair, and smoldering eyes. He seemed oddly out of place. Never smiling, just the same stoic look in every picture.

"Do you like them?" Layla asked behind me. I had forgotten her and Will were in here, Bruce's hired butler had already left.

"Yeah." I said politely. "Who are they?"

She grabbed one the frames and sat down on the bed beside Will, patting her other side for me to sit, I complied and she started listing off the names of the teens and their powers.

Purple girl " That is Magenta, she shifts into a guinea pig." That was an interesting power.

Highlighter kid. "This is Zach, he glows." I had to smile.

Orange boy " Ethan, he melts." Another odd one.

"And that is Warren Peace," I couldn't help it, I giggled a little when she told me the stoic boys name.

"What?" Layla asked, perplexed.

" Warren Peace. War and Peace." I said, pointing out the polar oppositeness of his name.

I could practically see the light bulb come on. "I never noticed that before. It's fitting I guess."

"Yeah," Will pipped in. " His dad is Barren Battle, the supervillian, and his mom is a hero."

Barron Battle. The name sent shivers down my spine. I could remember the article Clark had written when I was about seven. **COMMANDER TAKES DOWN BATTLE. 53 CASUALTIES. 107 INJURED. 53**. This was his son. He couldn't be that bad if he was hanging out with kids like Will and Layla, could he?

"Yeah, fitting." was all I could say.

Luckily, I heard Bruce call from downstairs, " Elle, we are leaving, are you going to come say good-bye or will you just leave us heartbroken?"

"You'd live." I yelled back, running down the stairs. I gave Diana a hug first.

" You can call anytime, Elle, we will be here in a second. We'll go shopping together when Homecoming gets here." She assured me. She had always taken me shopping in amazing placed like Paris and New York when I was having a bad day. I moved on to Clark. He picked me up in a tight bear hug.

" You have to promise to be good and not get yourself hurt." he told me, I could have sworn I heard his voice catch.

" I promise." I said as he sat me back down. I looked at Bruce and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Flinging my arms around him, I buried my face in his t-shirt as I had when I was younger.

" Should I have brought the rain gear?" he asked lightly. I laughed mid-sob. He placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back so that he could stoop on my level. " I'm always here, Elle, don't worry."

I nodded like the blubbering idiot I was.

" I'll come visit and you can come to Gotham when you want. Oh, and there's a present from all of us in your suitcase. See you later, kid." He said, tugging a lock of my long, silver hair.

" Bye." I whispered, giving each of them one last hug. They left, glancing over their shoulders as they walked down the sidewalk to the car.

" Elle, dear." I heard Layla's mother say. "You should probably take your shower and get in bed, it's going to be a big day for you tomorrow. That goes for you ,too, Layla. It's your first day of school tomorrow as well."

" Yes Ma'am." I said, making my way back up the staircase, hearing Will and Layla saying good-bye as I did.

The next day would be interesting, I thought. I looked out the window at the at the starry sky. It looked strange though the trees. At headquarters it had always been so clear. I looked down to see Will flying to the house next door and into an upstairs window.

It took me a while to fall asleep. When I did, fire and flying schools kept popping up in my dream. Flying school, I understood that. It was Sky High. But what was the deal with the fire?

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**AN: So, what do you think? I still have to work out a few kinks, it's been awhile since I have wrote a story. I know it is kind of slow right now, I had to give the introduction and include some of the details that would be important later. Thanks for reading. **


	2. First Day, First Impressions

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Here you go guys, Enjoy!

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Chapter Two

~First day, First impressions~

"Good morning, Elle. Time to get ready for school." A sing-song voice pulled me out of sleep. Layla's mother was in the door way, a basket of laundry on her hip. "You have about an hour to get ready."

Damn. It wasn't a dream. Welcome to Earth, Elle. Literally. "Okay." I mumbled sleepily, trying to gather the energy to sit up.

Layla bounded in the room, already dressed and ready.

"Come on Elle. We have to get you ready for your first day." She announced cheerfully. Not my idea of a good morning. Back home, the JL only woke me up early if there was a major emergency. Like the place was about to blow up.

"Layla," I asked groggily, "Are all your friends this enthusiastic?"

"Well, Zach can be. Sometimes Ethan. Never Magenta. Enthusiastic is not even programmed in Warren." She told me, not seeing that is was actually an insult.

"Never mind." I slammed the pillow over my head, intent on catching a few more minutes of sleep. I wouldn't get it.

The huge Great Dane that was in the living room last night had flopped itself on my bed and was determined to root me out of my warm cocoon of blankets. Damn dog.

"Mom must have sent him. She can talk to animals." Layla said, she was still there, sitting in front of my vanity.

"Fine, I'm up." I grumbled, rolling out of bed. When I looked up the dog standing on my recently evacuated bed was wagging his tail. I stuck my tongue out at him. Childish, but I was not awake yet.

"His name is Neal." Layla told me.

"Neal?" That was an odd name for a dog.

"I was eight." She told me as if that explained everything. "Better get ready. Mom will send the birds next." She warned. I figured she was telling the truth.

By the time I got on the bus to Sky High, my morning had gone from annoying to horrible. Layla's mom had gone on Call and she was not there to save me from the wrath of her daughter and that stupid make-up kit.

I realized soon after the vines cover all available exits that Layla wished to give me a makeover for my first day at school. Not my thing. She really couldn't mess up my clothes. Silver, blue, and black was all I owned besides jeans. When she emerged from my closet with my knee high silver boots, dark jeans, and a silver and black graphic tee, I was okay. I drew the line when she pulled out a make-up kit. I don't do make-up.

She would have none of that. When I walked out of her front door, I was smoky-eye, blushed, and glossed. I saw myself in the mirror. Not bad, but not me.

Then, to top my morning off, on the bus the only placed left was by the one and only...Warren Peace. I slid into the seat next to the dark, gruff looking boy and said not a word. Just silently pulled out my iPod (the wonderful present from Bruce and the rest of my family that was in my suitcase) and sat there. It wasn't until halfway though the trip, when we were already airborne, that I felt the heat waves hitting me. Glancing up, I saw Warren glaring at me, clearly angry.

I pulled out one of the earphones and put on a perfectly calm face. No need to get mad…yet. "What?" I asked coldly. You'll learn I'm pretty good at the cold thing.

"This is my seat." He growled. It took all I could not to laugh. That was all? I thought I had done something major.

"No WAY!" I exclaimed sarcastically. His face scrunched in rage. I smirked, this was too funny.

"It is." He growled again. "Go sit somewhere else. I sit alone. Get it?"

He had really just pissed me off. So what if he was Layla's friend, I was still a little mad at her anyway. Who was he to tell me what to do?

Just to tick him off more, I raised my hand in a salute. "Yes, sir."

My butt stayed glued to the seat. I put the headphone back in and leaned back, enjoying the anger that I could feel radiating off him. Chancing a glance, I saw smoke drifting up from him.

"Get out." He ordered. I was mid-eye roll when a flame hit the bare skin on my arm.

So he wanted to play that way. Fine. I could do that to.

I looked down at the flame in indifference. Best to toy with him first. Scooping up the flame in my permanently frozen hand, I tossed it from one hand to the other. I nearly fell out of the seat when I saw his expression. His eyes had bulged and his mouth popped open in shock. With a flick of my fingers, the flame stood frozen like a crystal in my hand. Just to anger him, I stuffed it in his open mouth.

That might have been pushing it a little to far. Steam rose from the ice, I assumed it was his power, but it was still pretty intimidating.

"You are dead." He growled as the bus jolted slightly. We had landed.

Thank the Lord. He couldn't kill me with all these super-peoples around. Smiling sweetly at him as I exited, I waved, "Have a nice day."

The growl I received was feral. I was having a great first day, don't you think? I hadn't even made it in the school and I had already made enemies with the scariest guy in school. Great!...NOT!

Before I could look around to ask where the principal's office was, Layla was me dragging into the school.

"Hurry up." She urged. "I told Principal Powers that I would take you to Power Placement. Coach Boomer puts you in either Hero or Hero Support. I think you will get Hero. I mean, how could you not? Your power is so cool and..."

"Layla." I stopped her.

"Yes?"

"You're rambling."

"Oh, sorry. I do that when I get excited." She told me, opening a door into the gym.

"Ms. Brookes, just in time." A man boomed from the platform in the middle of the room. "What's you power."

"Ice and water." I informed him, slightly started. That man can yell really loud.

"Is there a difference?" He asked with a sarcastic laugh, holding up a remote. "CAR!"

Without hesitation, I threw up my hands and let the ice erupt from them. The car was suspended mid-air, sitting on a layer of ice that I was holding up.

"Interesting." He mumbled. "Hero!"

"Yea! Go Elle!" I heard Layla cheer. As I stepped down from the platform, Layla attacked me with a hug. "This is awesome. Me, Will, and Warren will be in all your classes."

Warren. Great. Just damn great.

Surprisingly, I was able to avoid Warren in all my classes, once even moving my chair from his table to Will and Layla's. It was turning into a pretty good day, until lunch.

Will and Layla, my personal tour guides, led me to the cafeteria. I got my food, met the gang, and began eating and talking. All was fine. When he came in. The look I got from everybody told me that something was fixing to go down. Seemingly me. That's who they were staring at in fear, at least. Turning in my seat, I found Warren behind me.

"Oh, you again." I said nonchalantly, turned back around and starting to eat again. The others jaws dropped in shock, probably because I didn't go flying across the room.

I could hear his heavy, angered breathing behind me until ,finally, he let out a growl of anger and slammed his tray down on a table across the isle.

I leaned into Ethan, who was sitting by me, and asked, "What did I do?"

"You are in his seat." Deja'vu, no? I rolled my eyes, Mr. Temperamental would just have to get over it.

"Elle, why don't you sit by me. That way Warren could sit back over here." Layla suggested. I looked over at the boy,

"Why not." I said throwing up my hands. Moving solved nothing. He stayed there. Hey, I did my good deed for the day, the receiver just did not cooperate.

Later, when I boarded the bus at the end of the day, I reached the seat before he did.

Should I? I thought. YES!

"Do you not get the point?" I heard a deep voice say after a few minutes.

Not even turning around, I answered. "Nope."

"Tomorrow, you are not sitting here." Warren told me.

"Really?" I asked, knowing what I was fixing to ask would piss him off. "How do you figure that?"

He glared. I smirked. This was a wonderfully fun game and as he glared, I had a chance to look him over.

Nice hair. Long, but nice. His arms were muscular. His jaw was defined and my gosh, those lips. The dark smoldering eyes were burning into me, ruining their beauty. He had the whole 'bad boy' thing going for him, too. He wasn't ugly. Hell no. He was, no pun intended, very hot. Then you had his attitude. Not so good.

"Everyone sit down, please. We are about to take off." The bus driver called, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Warren, defeated, sat down in the seat beside me. He took off his jacket and I noticed wrists were each adorned by a flame tattoo. Before I could stop myself, a reached out and touched one.

BIG mistake. His hand erupted in flame and he jerked back. "Don't touch me."

"They're hot." I said stupidly, still surprised. It had been as if I were touching real flame.

He shook his head and continued to glare at me. That was getting old.

"Warren, you want to trade seats with me?" I heard Layla ask once we were in the air.

"Boy, you must have mad him M-A-D!" She told me as she replaced Warren in seat beside me.

"It goes both ways I guess. He told me I couldn't sit here." I sniffed. I looked around to see where he went. He was talking to Will in a seat two rows behind ours. Layla had mentioned as she was torturing me earlier that morning that Warren and Will were best friends. I had turned so fast in shock that the shadow she had been putting on my eyes went all the way across my face and she had to start over. They were so...different.

Warren was on the road to what looked to be villianary, at least that was what his attitude and clothing suggested.

Will was going to be a hero, shaking hands, kissing babies and all that jazz.

Warren did talk unless you made him mad. So I was first on his chat list.

Will wouldn't shut up at times.

I could go on all day and I had just met the guy.

We landed and Layla, Will, and I walked to Layla's house.

"How did you like it, Elle?" Will asked as we walked. I thought back on the day. I had angered Warren, became a hero-in-training, angered Warren, learned a few of my teachers names, and angered Warren.

"It was fun." I concluded out loud.

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AN: I was amazed how many of you added me to your favs and story alerts. And my wonderful reviewers. I'm glad y'all liked my story, even if you don't know why, lol. I know this chapter is short, it is mainly to show Sky High and Warren. It may have been better or worse than the first, I'm not sure, so review and tell me what you think. Chao!


	3. Day 15

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AN: I can't believe how many people like this story. I didn't think it was that good, but so many of you have added it to favs and story-alerts. And my lovely reveiwers. Thank you all for reading. I'm jumping up and down from the success so far. Hope I can keep you interested. Enjoy!

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Chapter Three

~Day 15~

Two weeks passed and unfamiliarity settled into routine. Routine was Neal waking me up every morning, I had a feeling he was doing it now without Mrs. Williams telling him to. I was actually beginning to slightly enjoy being woken up by the great oaf…but just slightly. I convinced Layla she didn't have to do my make-up. The agreement was I would put on make-up and look half-way decent when I walked out the front door and she wouldn't come in in the morning to spread her enthusiasm. Fair deal in my opinion.

Also among my routines, were my daily fights with Warren. We had branched off from seats to cover a good field of things, including science labs, temperatures that changed around us (melting hot or freezing cold), and once, during Comic Comprehension, the color green. Don't ask.

When I boarded the bus one morning, my fifteenth day, Warren was near flames before I even sat down. He didn't say anything. Just sat there fuming. Literally. I got kind of nervous when we reached the school and he still hadn't started fighting. That was odd. Really, really odd. I caught up with Layla as she and Will walked hand in hand into the school with the rest of the group. I was surprised how quickly all of them accepted me, and how quickly I warmed up to them. Warming up can be a hard thing for me, you know.

"Hey, Elle!" Layla greeted me with a wave. "I see you have managed to maintain you temper with Warren today."

"Yeah, Congrats." Zach told me. I smiled and nodded, then turned to Will and Layla.

"Can I borrow him for a minute?" I asked Layla pointing to the boy that was permanently attached to her. She nodded and I took hold of Will and steered him toward my locker. "Have you talked to Warren this morning?"

He raised an eyebrow. I could practically read his mind. '_Elle. Concerned about Warren. Who she constantly argues with. When is the school going to crash?'_

"No." he said slowly, probably trying to figure out my motive.

"I think you should. He's really mad at something." Here was my good deed of the day again. Warren was taking up a lot of those lately.

"Elllleee." He whined thinking this was all my fault. I didn't get mad. Most of the time it was my fault.

I held up my free hand in defense, the other was holding my school books. "For once, and only once mind you, I didn't do anything. He didn't even growl at me this morning."

"Whoa. This is serious." Will said with an sarcastic smile. " It's called silent treatment, Elle."

"Okay, don't believe me." I said walking to our first class. I looked back over my shoulder and yelled though the crowd. "Don't say I didn't tell you so when the school catches fire. I'm expecting it to happen about lunch."

"Fine, I'll talk to him during class." He sighed, knowing I was probably right. I was always right.

Layla sat by me today when Will took a seat next to Peace. He was smoking now, enough that the teacher had to tell him to stop before the alarm went off. Looking out of the corner of my eye during the lesson, I could see Will trying to talk to him. It wasn't working. Warren sat in his seat, arms folded, worksheet blank, his face twisted in anger. I knew that face, I had seen it many times during our fights. It pretty much meant "Back off or get fried." Yes, the school was definitely going to burn down today.

We got a surprise after our third class and a little insight on Warren's anger.

I had seen Cryssi on a few occasions. At Warren's locker, hanging on his arm, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before class. You know, the girlfriend thing. What I was surprised about however, was who I saw her with. A boy. A boy who was most definitely not Warren Peace. I know this because Warren had not come out of the class yet and the boy was tall, blond, and had a pair of books floating beside him. So this was Warren's malfunction? By the way they kept glancing toward the door in fear, I had a feeling they might have forgotten to mention their relationship to the already informed Warren. They were a bunch of freaking geniuses! I heard Layla gasp as she saw the sight. Turning to her, I silently pointed to Warren, who was walking out of the classroom. Together, we linked his arms and walked him away from the couple.

"Elle, I don't really feel like fighting today. Not with you at least." He growled as we dragged him down the hall. Kids were practically diving out of our way when they got a look at Warren. Maybe I should carry him along more often. "And Hippie, you should know better than to mess with me when I'm mad."

"Don't worry, Hotshot, we are just walking you to your next class. We thought you might want an armed escort." I told his with the biggest smile I could muster. I had given him the nickname on Wednesday, when I found that if you called him anything but his name he got mad. Big shocker there!

"Hahaha, I get it!" Layla exclaimed, catching on to my jabber-to-distraction plan, "Get it Warren. We are an 'armed' escort, holding onto your _arms_! Elle, you are_ so_ funny!"

"What can I say," I bragged with smug shrug, " I just have this wonderfully hilarious funny bone."

"Will you two just leave me ALONE?" Warren shouted, trying to pull away from us. "My locker is the other way."

"We don't need our books today." I reminded him. We saw Ethan, Zach, and Magenta as we walked down the hall. I think that it might have been a bit astounding for them. Me and Warren in the same bubble and not killing each other. Amazing, I know. "Hey guys!"

They waved back when I did, chins hitting the floor. I'm saving the school, people! Give me a break.

"Layla." Warren growled in a lethal voice."Let go of me NOW!"

His arms began to heat up, you could see the heat waves radiating off them. Layla let go with a yelp, rubbing her singed hands.

"That hurt!" Layla accused, pouting. He shrugged and turned to me.

"You, too." He said shaking his arm. Earlier in the week, he had already realized that I was fire-retardant when he threw a blast at me while we were fighting at Layla's house. As if the thing on the bus didn't already tell him that. I glanced around, Will was closing the gap between the students on either side of the hall. There was no way Warren was getting through him.

I slid my arm out from around his and whipped it off as if it were dirty. I couldn't let him think I liked him or anything.

I saw Cryssi walking gracefully around Will and up to the boy who was still at my side.

"Warren," She said in a sickly sweet voice. "Where have you been all morning? I missed you, baby."

"I am NOT your baby." Warren growled. Have you noticed how much he does that? I seriously think that is the only way he knows how to talk.

Cryssi flipped back her long Blondie hair and batted her mascara-caked eye-lashes, "You never minded that I called you that before."

Warren threw her the death glare. "Before what?" He asked though clenched teeth, not looking at the crowd that was gathering around him, Cryssi, Layla, Will, and me.

She glanced at me before looking back a him. "Before her." My eyes almost bulged out of my head when she pointed at ME! _ME_! Yes, that is what I said. **Me**. The girl who had made Warren's life miserable for the last week. The girl who is not really fond of the hothead next to her. The girl...well you get the picture. The point is she was pointing at yours truly. I laughed in her face. Hysterically.

Cryssi dropped her hand. Her face untwisted form that disgusted look she put on when she first glanced at me. Her eye grew wide. This was the funniest part. When she realized I was laughing at HER, she crossed her arms, stamped her foot, and stuck her nose so high in the air I was sure she was getting light headed from the high altitude. I laughed harder. So hard that I leaned on the nearest solid object for support. Warren.

Uh-oh. That was Miss Priss's breaking point. Losing her 'cool', she let out a growl and threw herself at me with a force that knocked me to the ground. Let's just say I stopped laughing.

I don't know if any of you guys know, but Bruce and one of the other member of the JL, Vigilante, happen to be experts in hand-to-hand combat. I lived with them for thirteen years. Get the picture? Yeah, I thought you did.

Cryssi was on top of me when we fell to the ground and I felt a blast of cold ice hit me in the face.

"Idiot, I'm an Ice-girl, too." I told her rolling my eyes, while flipping around and standing up. "What does it matter if I mess with your toy anyway? You're cheating on him."

Cryssi was still sitting on the floor and lashed out at me with a tan leg. "Bitch!" she snarled as I fell, caught off guard. Stupid me. I lunged from the ground, knocking her back and hitting her in the nose. Blood gushed onto the white tile floor and she howled in pain. She raised a hand to her face and saw the crimson flood erupting from her nose. Now, I have been told I was scary when I get mad. I hope that I am not as scary as she was that moment. Cryssi's blue eyes turned nearly black, no joke. Her face twisted in rage and she rose from the ground like an animal seeking prey. Creep-y. I dared a glance around us. Warren was still standing where he had been, a smirk on his face. The rest of the group, and the majority of the school, were in a large circle around the three of us. Cryssi began to circle me. I circled right back. She lunged though the air and I side-stepped, making her land flat-on her bloody little face. Flipping over, she propped herself up on her elbows and growled in frustration. She threw her weight back and then pushed her legs forward, landing on her feet. Neat trick, but amateur. She pulled her fist back and attempted to slam it into my face. Attempted being the main word there. With my lovely reflexes, I blocked her wrist, swung my elbow swiftly into her face, then twisted her arm that I was blocking behind her back lightening fast. I think I might need to that Bruce for the martial arts lessons.

"Are you done yet?" I asked her. "Or would you like to have another go?"

"Like hell I am." She spit, stomping on my foot. Oww. That really hurts. Boohoohoo. I let go of her arm. I did ask if she was done, apparently she wasn't. So why not let her have her chance to try and beat me up. Like that could really happen.

A foot flew though the air, hitting me in the stomach. I doubled over in pain. A flash of Blondie's hair was all I saw as I hit the floor. She had me pinned, but was feebly punching me. It didn't hurt, it was just annoying. I grabbed her neck and rolled so that I had the advantage. By then I was past mad. I was in a full-blown fury. My fists were steadily making contact with her. I was not sure where at. Her lip, shoulder, jaw, chest. I realized that tears were rolling out of my eyes. I was crying, something I did when I was extremely enraged. I felt a hot fist pull me into the air. Warren. Now he intervenes!

I was pulled to his warm chest, where I tried to stop crying. He pulled me close as I sobbed uncontrollably into his black t-shirt. Why was he being nice? He hated me. I hated him.

"Elle?" I heard his gruff voice call my name softly. I looked up, knowing I looked horrible, but what did I care. His face was a black, tan, and red blob. Whipping harshly at my eyes, I cleared the tears.

"What?" I asked, somewhat rudely. Not fully rudely because he was making an attempt to be nice.

"What did you do?" Was he BLIND? Cryssi was on the floor groaning and moaning in pain. I had whooped her ass.

Then I realized how quiet it was. And how cold. So much for the school catching fire today.

It took three hours for everyone to be defrosted. I was put in detention after the job was done. Cryssi would be in another room when she got back from the nurse. My stomach started growling in hunger about two o'clock. I had missed lunch. I think they may have forgotten about poor, little me. I got a crazy, hunger-deprived idea. I was preparing to run and hit the door, knowing it would not open, but I was bored. I stood as far back from the door as I could, got a good running start, and hit a solid human chest and bounced.

Looking up from the floor, I saw someone I certainly didn't want to see. Bruce. Normally I would have been ecstatic. This situation was not my norm. I was not the kind of girl that normally got in a lot of trouble. Ok, that was a lie. Sue me. He had that face on that looked like Clark's, too. Crap.

He walked in quietly and closed the door. "Sit."

"I am sitting, Bruce." I smiled up from my post on the floor.

"In the desk, Elle." He said with that adult voice you don't want to hear...ever.

When I came home, I had been chewed and spit back out. I was grounded. From what I didn't know. I had a feeling Bruce didn't really know how to ground someone. He had just told me everything I had done to Cryssi, not listening to the fact that I didn't start it. Do you want to hear what all I did to her? Of course you do. I broke her nose, fractured her cheek bone, knocked out a tooth, and managed to break her arm. Who knew I could to that much damage? I'm only 5'5" and maybe weigh 115 pounds. Cryssi is probably 5'9". Look at me go. I did feel a little bad though. Just a little. When I walked into Layla's living room, Mrs. Williams was there. I was afraid I would get Round 2 when she suddenly gave me a huge hug.

"I am so glad you are okay, dear." She said wrapping me toward her. She wasn't mad. Had she gone crazy? I had just beat a girl up and froze the whole school. "When Will and Warren dropped Layla off they just said that your had gotten in a fight, froze the whole school, and was locked in detention. You must have lost control of your power when you were fighting, poor dear."

I was still shocked that she wasn't mad. "Yes, ma'am, I did."

"Well from what Warren told me, it should be that Cryssi girl in detention, not you." Mrs. Williams said, going back to sweeping the floor and shaking her head. "Never liked that girl anyway. I always knew she was using Warren, the dear. He brought her over once, when him and Will were fixing something. Acted like we were her maids. The nerve."

I smiled. Mrs. Williams was officially awesome. She didn't even give me the dirty _'you should not have done that'_ adult look.

When I got up to my room, I found a note sitting on my bed. Actually, I found it when I jumped on my bed and heard a crinkling sound. When reaching for it, I realized a corner was darkened by a fire. Warren? That was odd.

Plucking it up off the blue sheet, I unfolded it the tiny piece of paper.

__

"Thanks. And don't worry about Cryssi. She deserved it.

-Warren"

It was simple, but I think today might have nudged our hatred toward a very fragile version of friendship.


	4. I don't know

**A/N: Here you go, the next chapter. Enjoy. Thank you for all the reviews! **

On Saturday, Layla had the lovely idea that we should celebrate my release from detention (a.k.a. PRISON!) by going to the movies. I disliked the idea from the beginning for three reasons.

A. I would be the only one besides Warren who was going solo. Don't even finish that thought. I don't like Hotshot.

B. I really didn't want to sit though the blood and guts film.

C. I really didn't want to go. Isn't that reason enough?

They wouldn't listen to me. Dummyheads. The movie lasted two and a half hours. So I saw two and a half hours of blood and swords while I sat between Ethan, who had a girlfriend, and Warren. I think the group did it on purpose.

See, this is what happened: They got together during lunch for the four days I was in detention and decided that the two of us would be the most wonderful couple since Lois and Clark.

I can't prove it of course, they would never admit it, but they all kept looking down at us every time we moved. I seriously thought they would all fall out of their seats when I reached down to get my phone out of my purse to check the time. After what seemed like forever, the credits began to roll across the screen accompanied by the custom 'saga song'.

"Okay guys, lets go, I'm starved." I said to the group, most of whom were making out with their significant other.

"I think we might have to get a crowbar." I heard a deep voice behind me suggest. Turning around I saw a very minuscule smile on the edge of Warren's lips.

"Was that...Maybe a...Did you just make a joke?" I asked in mock shock. That rhymed. Hehehe. I am so easily amused.

Warren raised his hands in a shrug, a smirk on his face. "I have my moments."

"I think you might be right though." I frowned, turning back to the couples sitting in the empty theater. Then I got an idea. "Watch this."

Pulling the water from the air, I gathered it in a mass over their heads. "I am warning you people, I will drop it."

Will surfaced first and scrambled out of the chair in panic at the sight of the huge blob of water floating above his head. "Don't."

"Then come on, I'm about to starve over here." The rest of the group came up for air and joined us as we walked out the door. I wanted Chinese, but Warren refused. At first, I thought that he was trying to start a fight when he stopped me from retorting.

"I work in a Chinese restaurant. I really don't like to eat it." Understandable. "There is an Italian place down about six blocks away."

The group agreed. Italian it would be. I wasn't really happy with that and hung back from the group, sulking. We had gone three blocks when I could here the footsteps keeping a heavy-footed pace with mine from behind me. Looking up, I saw the group more than half a block before me. I shivered in the cool night air, but I was not cold. I was scared. I threw a quick, fearful glance over my shoulder. I tall man in a brown jacket was looking right at me. I swear guys, this guy was the boogie-man's brother. I almost died at the sight of him. Picking up my pace, I tried to catch up with my friends.

"Wait up, babe. I just want to talk." He called in a gruff voice. Not deep, like Warren's. Gruff, like a dog growling. Why am I thinking of Warren at a time like this? I noticed that their was no one around on the sidewalk but my friends, still half a block ahead. Like most sane people would, I began to run. So did he, over taking me in a second. I screamed as he slammed me into the wall of the looming brick building behind me. "You shouldn't have done that darling."

"Well you aren't the most original cookie in the world, are you? That line is so old." I retorted back. I'm a real genius, you know, I talk bad about the guy who is attacking me. Sometimes I wish I had a hammer to hit myself over the head with when I am stupid. I know you are thinking 'why didn't she use her power?' You have a really big, scary guy throw you against a building and see how well you think at that moment. It is a little thought hindering. Then, as cold sweat dripped down my brow, I felt an icy piece of metal under my chin. A knife! My body was paralyzed with fear. A memory from the past was replaying itself in my head. Fighting, I shoved it away, not wanting to remember.

The knife pressed harder into my neck, making my wince and keep my eyes closed tight.

I could feel the rough air on my throat as I screamed. What I said, I really wasn't sure. Suddenly, there was a blazing heat that rushed through the chilly air. Then the knife was gone. Sinking to the ground as my knees gave out, I opened my eyes to see Warren ablaze in front of me; the man was held over his head and his hand wrapped around the guy's neck. The attackers knife rattling on the ground as it dropped. My brain finally started to work when I heard footsteps coming from the direction my friends had been going. I rose from the ground as quickly as I could, knowing I had to stop Warren before he killed the guy.

"Warren!" I screamed over the roaring noise. Did you know that when something really bad was happening, it is loud without there being any outside sound? It was insanely loud when I touched Warren's arm to freeze him.

I barely started to gather my power when he deflamed and looked down at me with this blazing look that scared the crap out of me. "Did he hurt you?" He asked in a his deep growling voice.

Anger dominated his features, and his eyes where literally flashing red. "No, just don't hurt him. You'll regret it."

The man was struggling in terror in Warren's powerful grip, scratching at his hands in a fruitless effort to be released. In the dim light of the streetlamps, I could see that his face was beginning to turn a nasty purple shade. Peace looked back at him and growled as he dropped him to the ground. The man tried to scramble away and I froze him mid-step. I turned to the others, starting to shake. "Will, do you think you could take him to the police station? The rest of us will meet you there in a minute."

"Sure." He nodded solemnly, pulling out a red, white, and blue mask. "For emergencies." He told us, noticing our questioning looks. After he donned that mask, he picked up the attacker and flew off toward the Maxville police station a few blocks away.

"Elle!" I heard Layla say. I turned to her realized she had probably been saying my name for a while. "Oh **my GOSH**! Are you okay?"

I looked up at her, smiled shakily, "Just dandy."

"Ellleeeeee, I'm serious." she complained wrapping her arms around her shoulders. I noticed Zach had pulled Magenta to him, like someone would come after her next. Aww, how cute!

"So was I." I told her. I'm a big fat LIAR! "I'm fine. Thanks to Warren."

I grinned up appreciatively at my former enemy. To my surprise, he was not even smirking back. His eyes were still livid and his face was scrunched up in rage. If I didn't know he was dangerous when he was like this, I would have said he looked funny. But, his expression was anything but funny.

"That was really STUPID!" He bellowed through the quiet that had settled. Layla visibly jumped, Zach pulled Magenta closer and Ethan tugged his girlfriend to him. "You could have been killed."

So. What did he care? I pulled myself to full height, preparing to fight back. "Do you think I don't know that? He threw me into a wall, Warren! That knife..." I screamed pointing to weapon on the ground. "See it? It was about to slit my throat. That kind of thing makes you notice the bad side of things real quick."

I was about two inches from his face when I finished, breathing heavy. Warren came even closer, stooping to be at my level. "You are so stupid sometimes."

"Good comeback, Hotshot." I said sarcastically. He was not going to win this fight. There was no reason for him to be yelling at me. I had just been attacked. Usually people make sure you are safe and sound, then try their hardest not to mention it again. Not Warren Peace. No. He has to yell at me.

"Why weren't you with the rest of us anyway? Then, you wouldn't have even been in that situation." He told me, standing back up and folding his arms over his chest.

"I don't know." I said lamely, folding my arms like he was.

"You almost** died** over 'I don't know'?" He growled raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" I yelled definitely.

"See, you are stupid." He said, still angry.

"Well, if I'm so stupid, why did you save me?" I retorted. I was not stupid. Okay, I have already admitted I was stupid. Remember the 'original cookie' thing. That was stupid. But, he had no right to say I was!

"Because...I don't know." Warren yelled, his hands balling into fists as his arms flung though the air.

"You saved me over 'I don't know'?" I flung his own words back at him. Do you see the point of this fight? I don't.

"Yeah!" He said, repeating my answer.

"Well, if you don't know, why don't I go find another stalker dude and have you see if you can figure out why you want to save me? How does that sound?" Awful comeback, Elle. Your a right genius there.

"Maybe you should." Warren challenged, practically growling right down my throat.

"Maybe I will." I screamed back. The rest of the group was watching us as if were crazy. I had a feeling we probably were getting close to it at this point.

"You go right ahead." He told me. I turned on my heel and stomped off in the direction Will had flown.

"Watch me." I yelled as I walked.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

"Elle." Told ya. "Wait up."

"No." I yelled indignantly "Remember that I am the stupid idiot girl who almost died over 'I don't know'!"

Yes, I just called myself a stupid idiot. Shut-up.

"I didn't call you an idiot." I heard him correct me, his voice right behind me.

"Close enough." I retorted rolling my eyes, but not stopping.

"Well. it was stupid. You could have died."

"What do you care?" I asked turning on him, getting an inch from his face and yelling. "What do you care if I die? I would be out of your hair. No more fighting. You could sleep on the bus. And it's not like you would miss me."

He stepped back as if I had punched him. That was a surprising reaction! "I might."

"Liar." I accused, flinging open the door and walking into the police station. Will was waiting with five or six cops gathered around him.

"The kids were just walking down the street when the guy grabbed one of the girls and had her pinned to the wall with a knife. A boy from her group came and pulled him off her and held him there until I could get control of him." He was explaining in the men. I was guessing he was in the 'super' mode since he didn't act like he knew us.

"What about this 'arms of fire' and 'girl with icy' thing he keeps yelling about? Did you see anything?" One asked, a smile on his face. Obviously the fellow didn't believe it.

"Your kidding?" Will laughed. "No, I didn't see any fire or ice."

"Where is this girl?" Another cop asked, this one with a sheriff badge.

"Right here." I piped in still standing in the doorway with my arms crossed.

After that the details get really long, tedious, and BORING. Muy aburren. That means REALLY BORING.

It was close to midnight when we finally got home. Layla's mom was in a frenzy, as usual.

"Oh, dears, I thought you had got yourself in trouble when I got that phone call." She said, enveloping us all in warm hugs. "Don't you ever do that again. EVER. I almost had a heart attack."

"I'm fine Mrs. Williams. Nothing to worry about." I assured her with a smile while heading toward the living room and falling onto the couch, exhausted. I looked at Warren who filled the doorway and smirked. "I had my knight in black leather to protect me."

"Aww. Isn't that sweet." I heard Layla's mom quip from the kitchen. Everyone filed into the William's living room and sat on the various pieces of furniture, looking at one another for an idea of what to do.

"So...who wants to watch a movie?" Will asked looking nervously at me, like I would freak out or something. I wasn't going to. If anything bad ever happened, I would laugh or joke until I forgot how bad it was. It sounds stupid, but it works for me. Right now, any joke would make me feel better, and a good movie would probably work wonders.

"Are you actually going to watch it or are you going to inhale Layla the whole time?" I asked with an evil smile. Both turned dark red, Layla pulling a square pillow over her head.

"Does it matter?" Magenta said, eyeing Zach. "It would only be you and Warren watching it anyway."

"Lovely." I grimaced, looking over at my oddly friendly enemy. That is what I had decided he was. He was an enemy, or he would not fight with me all the time. Remember that "Thanks" letter he wrote. He doesn't. Or at least he doesn't show it. One minute he is saving me and the next he is yelling and fighting again. The guy is absolutely insane. Absolutely.

So, we were watching the movie. We as in me and Warren. Wonderful, huh? We were sitting on the large love seat. Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I wasn't watching the movie, I don't know if he was or not. The rest of the group was as I said 'inhaling' each other, that is their specific dates. Zach had Magenta in his lap and was glowing brightly in the dark room. Will was sitting in the same recliner as Layla. And Ethan. Ha. Ethan. That was just adorable. He had no idea what he was doing. Poor guy. His girlfriend didn't seem to mind though, cause they were still making out like the others.

Warren had his arm slung across the back of the love seat. That was as intimate I was getting tonight and I was completely okay with that. Especially since my 'date' was a evil prick. Hot evil prick, but a prick none-the-less.

I suppose I can say the events of the night had caught up to me, cause I blinked for like a second and was out. Asleep that is. When I awoke, I kept my eyes shut, a talent acquired from when I would stay at Bruce's and Al would come in and turn every damn light on. I realized pretty quick, as quick as my groggy state let me, that it was very warm in my room. At least I had assumed it was my room, where else would I fall asleep? Then the warmth around me started _breathing_. Surprisingly, this didn't phase me a bit. I was thinking along the lines of Neal being in the bed with me. He came to my room to snuggle when Layla kicked him out. I was not thinking along the lines of what I saw when I opened my eyes. Warren.

This is where my brain went- Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT!??

Yeah, I believe that is exactly what it did.

I was laying against Warren Peace's chest, comfortably I might add, and he was asleep. Not throwing me off in disgust. ASLEEP!

Looking around, I realized everyone else was in the same state. Zach, with Magenta at his side, was stretched across the couch. Layla and Will were reclined back in the chair, wrapped around one another. Ethan and his girlfriend were sprawled across the floor where they had been sitting earlier.

Looking back at my human pillow, I realized Warren was actually...kinda...just a little...adorable. He looked so calm. Nothing like he usually was in my immediate presence. And his had this cute little pout in his lips. And his arms were wrapped tightly around me. Wait, that wasn't adorable. I tried to push off his chest, but he just pulled me tighter and mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.

"Warren," I whispered, as to not wake the others. "Warren? Warren Peace? Wake up."

"Unh." A grunt. That was all I got.

"Hey, Hotshot." He moved a little that time. "Warren."

Nothing. Damn. Prying my arm from under his, I reached up and pulled a twig of his hair. Nothing. I brought the piece down and flicked it under his nose. He wrinkled it a bit, but didn't wake-up.

"Warren Peace, if you don't wake up this second I'll freeze...I don't know what I'll freeze, but it won't be good." I threatened to the unresponsive boy. Nothing. I sighed loudly and dropped my head down on his chest in annoyance. Stupid boys.

"You know, you really get annoying sometimes." I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the deep whisper come rumbling out of the chest I was laying against.

"So do you." I retorted. "Do plan on letting me go anytime soon?"

He looked down at me as if trying to decide, " I'll think about it."

Then the ass closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Grrrr. Grr. Grr. Grr.

"Hotshot, do you even know what time it is?" I asked, trying to get him to get up.

"Sometime past midnight of course." He answered evasively, knowing it would annoy the heck out of me.

"No shit, Sherlock. Can you at least let me up?" I begged.

"I was about to," He answered with his eyes still closed. "But then you made that nice little comment."

I let out an annoyed sigh and let my head fall back down onto his black t-shirt. I had to admit, there where worse places to fall asleep. But, I was not happy with owner of that very well toned chest at the moment and just simply didn't want to be there.

"War-_ren_," I complained in the same whiny baby voice Cryssi had used before the fight. "Can you please let me up? Pretty please?"

He just shook his head and pulled the arm that was pushing me away from him back under his hold so that I could only lay flat against him.

"You're a real ass. You know that?" I told him.

"Yep." He answered with a smile. "Will you please go back to sleep? Or at least lay still so I can?"

"What would it matter? You can go back to sleep without me." I pointed out while pushing against his arms the best I could.

"I know." He said, setting down into the couch more and closing his eyes again.

I looked around again, trying to see a clock. The glow of blue numbers came from the DVD player above the TV. 4:09 A.M.

"You know it's past four, don't you?" That got him up.

"Shit! Why didn't Layla's mom wake us up?" He exclaimed jumping up from the couch and gathering his coat and wallet that had fallen to the floor. Warren nudged Ethan in the side to wake him up. I went over to Zach and Magenta and woke them up as well. Glancing over I saw Warren shaking Will, who picked up Layla and headed toward the stairs.

"You should really go back to bed." Warren told me, thrusting his arms into his jacket and looking for his key to the motorcycle parked outside. Zach managed to stand up and Magenta was leading him out by his hand as if he were a little kid. How cute! They had to be the most adorable couple ever. Ethan was making his way to the door with his girlfriend and pulling out the keys the old beat-up car he drove. Will came back down the stairs about the time Warren found his key and walked out the door in front of the pyro, taking off into the air. Warren walked slowly to the door, as if he were thinking of something. Warren think? Wow I didn't know that! I walked to the door behind him so I could lock it. Just when I was closing the door, he pushed it back open.

"For the record, I really would miss you if you died." Then he left.

That was when my brain went "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?" for the second time that night.

I don't know if I can take many more surprises like this.

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**A/N: So? What did you think? I was have a better feeling about this chapter than the rest, so please review and tell me if you like it. I am still amazed at my number of reviews and people who have put me on story alert and favorites. THANKS YOU GUYS!!!!!! Y'ALL ARE AWESOME! The next couple of chapters are really going to get into the plot so I hope you all keep reading. Thanks for reading. **

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	5. Lightbulb Moment!

****

A/N: Here you go guys enjoy! A big thanks to all my reviewers!

* * *

Okay, is it odd that I was more shaken by that last little comment than when a guy was holding a knife to my throat? Because I was. Warren Peace had just thoroughly confused me. Damn. I seriously hate when I don't have people figured out. I have figured everyone else out.

Layla: Caring, happy, when you make her mad, she'll snap. Loves Will to distraction.

Will: Always does the right thing, will jump off a bridge for Layla(even though he can fly), can be a little slow sometimes.

Zach: Super hyper and will do whatever Magenta wants.

Magenta: Who cares attitude, will occasionally surprise you with a smile.

Ethan: Ethan is just Ethan. Great kid, a little dorky, but fiercely loyal.

Warren Peace:_ (crickets chirp in silence)_

Right. Well, that's about it. I have no clue what the guy will do next. It's driving me crazy!

So I went looking for Layla as soon as I slammed the door and flipped the lock, hearing the motorcycle outside roar to life and fade in the distance. And he rides a motorcycle. Damn him. Can't he be just a little less perfect than the model bad boy? Layla was asleep. At 4:30. Imagine that. I started knocking on the door. Nothing. Then slowly a sleepy Layla opened the door.

"Elle," She whined as she leaned against the door for support. "It's way to early."

"I know. All I need is one question." I assured her.

"Yes." She said before I asked.

I looked at her, confused, "What?"

"Yes, Warren will continually surprise you with random moments of being nice and caring. In fact, he will surprise you so much that you might as well get used to it. He is not really as bad ass as he tries to make himself be. When you two are fighting, it is probably just as much fun for him as it is for you. And you never have to worry about him hating you because he doesn't, no matter how much he acts like he does. In fact, I'm almost positive that he may like you a lot more than he would lead you to believe." She told me. Some how, I was not surprised she already knew what I was thinking.

"Okay. Thank you."

"Your welcome. I'm going back to bed now, don't wake me up early in the morning." Then she shut the door in my face. That was interesting.

I walked back to my room, but there was no way I was going to sleep tonight. Sitting on my window sill, I looked up at the stars. What the heck was going on? I am one of those people who hates to be confused. Right now I was going out of my mind with confusion. Grrr.

It took two weeks for people to stop asking me to tell them the story of Saturday night. It appeared that somebody-cough_Layla_cough-told the whole school about my little adventure…and how Warren helped. Since he wasn't exactly Mr. Approachable, everyone came to hear the story from me. You wouldn't believe how bad it got! People were asking me so much that I typed it out one day and made prints so I could just hand it out.

Good side to the story: I was suddenly very popular!

Bad side to the story: Everyone thought Warren liked me.

Not good.

He didn't of course, but they didn't get that. The funny thing was that the story was that he liked me not the other way around. Even funnier was the fact that Hotshot had been caught actually blushing many, many times at the mention of us being together. Actually, I'm not sure if that was funny or just weird. He didn't say he didn't like me either. I knew he didn't, but it was strange that he didn't deny it to them. All we did was fight. No. He didn't like me. He didn't. I hoped that was the case at least.

As we moved into the second week of October and the curiosity of the Elle/Warren Topic mostly died away, Layla started talking about the Halloween party she was going to throw. Invitees: Me, Warren, Magenta, Ethan, Ethan's girlfriend, Zach, and of course Will. Big party, huh? She was excited about it though, so we acted excited with her. Well, I acted, and I think Warren and Magenta did, everyone else actually seemed genuinely enthusiastic.

She and I were walking to our next class, talking about what we would dress-up as (a requirement by order of Layla), when we saw someone exit the Principal's office. A male someone. I had seen him in the hall from time to time, he looked just like the normal student at Sky High. Sort of tall, blondish, and okay looking, but he also had _those_ eyes. Always hungry for something. Power. Control. Domination.

And it wasn't so much that he was leaving the office when Principal Powers was across the school taking care of a Freshman fight, it was the fact that he was holding a long, rolled up poster of some sort. From the blue markings it seemed to be the blueprints for Sky High.

As if reading my mind, Layla spoke up. "Those are the blueprints for the school."

"You sure?" I asked looking over at her, the boy was calmly walking down the hall with the prints held behind his. Hello Mr. Obvious!

"Yeah, we used them during the Homecoming Dance last year." She told me as we discreetly followed him though the halls and onto the grounds.

"So, he is not exactly supposed to have it? Let's figure out who he takes it to, then tell Powers." I decided. The boy walked onto the grounds and toward the gym. He didn't creep, it was more of a slink and he was very sure not to run into anyone. Layla and I were nearly hanging onto each other in anxiousness as we followed him into the gym and hid behind a piece of large equipment where we could easily see the boy…and the hooded figure standing under the bleachers. Hooded figure, how typical. Can't these people think of something new for a change?

"You have them?" The figure asked with a deep male voice that reminded me of Warren's. The blonde boy handed them over. "No one saw you?"

"Naw, Powers was across the school and everyone else is heading to class." If only he knew.

"Good, go before someone comes." Then the guy just disappeared. Well, sunk back into the shadows so that we couldn't see him anymore anyway, I think. We might have gone after him had we not been alone and the boy had not come our way to exit the building. We made it out the door just as he rounded the corner of the equipment.

"Okay, so someone outside the school is trying to break in and some kid just comes and practically hands him a key. Great!" I said once we were on our way to the Principal's Office.

"Yeah. Wait, how do you know he doesn't go to school here?" Layla asked, adjusting her book bag again. There was no one in hallway when we knocked on the office door and the sound echoed strangely.

"Will and Warren are probably wondering where we are." I thought out loud while we waited for an answer. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Don't mention that name in front of her! Layla had been hell bent on getting me and Warren together for the last two weeks. It wasn't happening. It wasn't.

"Yes, Ladies?" Principal Powers answered her door.

"Can we come in?" Layla asked. I didn't wait for an answer, just walked in and sat in one of the seats.

"Ms. Williams, Ms. Brookes, you have a problem I assume?" She asked in her commanding voice.

"There was a boy in here earlier." She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Girls, this room cannot be opened without me personally letting them in." She told us.

"You would think so, but you know what kind of people are at this school. They could rip the alarms out of the wall and have them not make a single sound. This boy left with something: blueprints." I explained. Principal Powers tapped a thoughtful finger to her lips.

"That's not good. Are you sure they were blueprints?" She asked as she walked over to a drawer and opened it.

"Yes, ma'am, they were the same ones we used last year to save the school." Layla told her as she pulled an identical poster roll to the one the boy had out of the drawer. "That's them! That's not possible! We saw him give it to a man in the gym."

"A man? What did he look like?" She asked immediately.

"I don't know. He had his face covered up with a hood." Layla said. Powers put the prints back in the drawer.

"Girls, I want to believe you, but you have no evidence to tell me that it's true. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do." She apologized, shooing us out. "I have to get some papers filled out now. Come back if you see anything suspicious again. I'm sorry."

"Great. Just damn great!" I grumbled once we had left the office. It was nearing the end of the day and this was the last period, so there was not much point in going to class. We sat down on a bench outside the school and waited for Will and the others to come out to board the bus. "So, we are liars because we have no proof. The kid was probably a duplicator or something. It could have been anything. It could have been a whole team of kids working together. You had alarms to disable, doors to unlock, and papers to find and apparently duplicate."

"So what are you wearing to the party?" Layla asked out of the blue. Of all the things to think of at a time like this.

"Layla!" I exclaimed in shock. "We just saw the blueprints of the school handed over to who knows who and you want to talk about clothes!"

"You heard Principal Powers. No use without evidence. There isn't any, so, we should just keep our eyes open and get evidence if we see it happen again. So, what are you wearing?" Layla dismissed the subject with a shrug.

" I don't know yet." I responded, still thinking of the boy.

"Missed you last period. I didn't think you had the guts to skip." A deep voice said from behind me. Warren was standing behind the bench with Will coming toward us.

"We didn't skip." Warren raised an eyebrow and made a face that clearly said 'yeah, right'. "Wait, did you say you missed me?"

I couldn't help but grin at the light shade of pink that arose in his cheeks.

"You wish, Brookes. You wish." He grumbled, looking at an apparently interesting cloud that was floating by.

Layla and I explained once the whole gang got there. Most of them just shrugged it off. The school could be broken into, people. Get a clue here!

"It was probably just some kid fooling around." Will dismissed it just as his girlfriend had. Did the people not get it?

"Whatever." I finally grumbled, throwing myself into a bus seat. Warren sat down beside me.

"I believe you." He said. " I know that kid. I met him one time at the prison when I went to visit my dad."

"Who was he going to see?" I asked. As if it really mattered.

"Both his parents. They are serving more time than my old man. Four lives and 50 + years. He ran into me and I saw it. That same hunger that was always in my father. Like he couldn't live without more power."

"That was the same thing I thought. What's his name?" I asked, leaning back in the seat, fully intent on going to sleep.

Wait! Have you guys noticed everything? We aren't fighting. It's been a whole three days since we have had so much as an argument! I'm kind of proud of myself. Can anyone guess who was behind the peace? Layla, of course. No, surprise there. She decided that we were getting annoying and threatened to lock us in a room together for a whole day if we didn't stop. It worked! Plus, if she got us to stop fighting, it would be easier for he

"Carvin. Sam Carvin." He said with disgust.

"Sounds personal." I observed. He looked at me with those smoldering, dark eyes and smirked with those full lips and I got this nearly uncontrollable urge to kiss him.

"Not really. It's an old family rivalry. His grandfather betrayed my grandfather. You know the deal. It's so generic it's not even funny." He told me. For some reason, I was not noticing that he was talking. I was noticing how well his black and red t-shirt fit over his muscular body. Damn it, Elle. Get it together. This guy is crazy. Why would I be attracted to him? He is ignorant and annoying and so sweet sometimes and oh shut UP!

"Earth to Elle." Warren said in his deliciously deep voice, waving his hand in front of my face. "Are you in there?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry I was…thinking." I responded, shaking the thoughts out of my head. "What where you saying?"

"Old family rivalry." He said absently, staring at me with this strange, soft look. "Your eyes aren't all silver."

"What?" That sentence got to me a bit. Why was he looking at my eyes?

"Your eyes. They have blue flecks in them, too." He murmured leaning in really, really close. Too close. In fact, he was only inches away. I noticed his eyes moved from mine to my mouth. Why was he looking at my mouth? He flicked his eyes back up to mine and opened his mouth slightly.

Then the damn bus stopped.

"Come on, Elle. This is us." I heard Layla say from somewhere in front of me. I tore my eyes from Warren's smoldering black ones that had this of look of longing. That surprised me. I didn't think my momentary lapse of judgment would affect him. Or were his feelings real? Mine weren't. They couldn't be. I could NOT like Warren Peace. No. They were not real.

The following two weeks passed without incident or anymore sneaking boys taking stuff to creepy figures. Or encounters with Warren Peace. But that was his fault not mine. I swear. If I walked one way, he would turn and walk the other. If I talked, he was suddenly mute. If I sat down by him at lunch, he would move. If I…well, you get the picture. Did I do or say something on the bus that day that made him mad. No, it couldn't have been that. We had gotten mad at each other many times and he had never acted like this. Ever. Usually he talked more when he was mad at me. And usually it was very loud.

It was not that he was ignoring me completely though. Sometimes I would catch him watching me through the shelves if we were in the library at the same time. Or in the lunchroom I would see him look at me across the table. But when I looked up, he would immediately look away. Stupid boys. And they think women are complicated?

Then, while helping Layla decorate for the party that would be later that night, I had a light bulb moment. It started with Layla and me talking about Will. Yeah, you can see where this is going, right?

"He really is the sweetest guy I have ever met." Layla said dreamily. I'm not really sure how we got on this subject.

"Layla, you would say that if he acted like Warren." Uh-oh, I used the W-word. That sent Layla on a trip.

"He has been a lot nicer lately. Even on the verge on sweet when he is around you." She said, I think trying to argue a point that I didn't really care to hear about. By then, I was getting a little pissed off that he wasn't talking to me.

"Layla. He doesn't talk when he is around me." I pointed out, searching through the bag for another roll of streamers. " Not since two weeks ago."

"What happened two weeks ago?" Stupid Elle, why did you have to go and mention that to her? Why?

"I don't know. On the bus he was talking and all of sudden started saying something about my eyes. He got really close. Like this close." I held my hand up to my face, demonstrating how close he had been. "Then the bus stopped and he hasn't talked to me since. Not really complaining. No fighting, but he has become rather boring." I told her, sitting down among the yards of black and orange ribbon that we were hanging on the ceiling.

"Elle, do you seriously not get it?" She asked, balancing on a ladder as I tossed her the roll of black streamers.

"What?" What the heck was she talking about? Did I miss something?

"Elle. Come on. Warren starts talking to you without arguing. You get_ this _close to each other on the bus. He blushes anytime you talk to him, bet you didn't know that. Are you following me at all? My gosh you are worse than Will. Warren had to flat out tell him when I-"

"**OH MY GOSH!**" Lightbulb!

Uhhh...guys...I think Warren Peace likes me. Like, _likes_ likes me. What am I going to do?

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A/N: Well? What do you think? Sorry it has taken so long, but here it is so please review!


	6. Around to Play Hero

**A/N: I am so sorry. I have been so busy that I have had time to write the next two chapters, but no time to upload them. I will have the next chapter up in about 10 days, I have to fix a few things. So here is a very belated chapter-Enjoy!**

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Yeah. Well. That was an interesting thought. Warren Peace likes me, Elle Brookes. Might I repeat. OH MY GOSH! What the hell was going on? Since when has he liked me? I mean there was that one day on the bus where I sorta had a lapse of judgment, but that was all that was. Not real feelings. Or were they real. I don't know. I am so confused. I hate being confused.

Layla was sitting at my side laughing her head off and clutching her stomach. "You…you…y-you…ser…serious-ly…di-didn't-t…know?" she managed to say between galls of laughter.

"Well, obviously not or I wouldn't have yelled that at the top of my lungs." I told her, sitting back down on the floor after I had jumped up during my light bulb thing. "So, riddle me this-why doesn't he talk to me if he likes me so much?"

"Cause he is afraid that you two will start fighting again." Layla blurted out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Are you blind? I mean, it's pretty obvious."

"No." I snapped in annoyance. This was a dilemma of the greatest sort. The boy sort. Has anyone else realized yet that I have never had the chance to have a boyfriend? I haven't! I lived in Smallville with the Kent's until I was ten, not exactly the boyfriend age. Then with Bruce, Alfred, and Dick Grayson until I was fourteen and was barely let out of the mansion, save Bruce's charity balls, because I it was hard to keep my powers in check when I was younger. Then I moved to the Watchtower-Teenage population-uno.

"That was hilarious, I can't believe you didn't know." Layla remarked, smiling in disbelief.

"Oh, shut it. This is ridiculous. One minute the guy hates me, the next he is about to kiss, then he refuses to talk to me." I rambled crossly.

"So…do you like him?" Layla asked nonchalantly, fiddling with a piece of streamer.

"Maybe. I mean, I like being around him. That is a reason why I like to fight with him." I saw her raise an eyebrow. I know, it sounded stupid, but it was the only way I could be around him. He wouldn't talk to me otherwise. Of course, right now he was doing neither. Talking for fighting I mean. "And I like it when he smiles. But that doesn't mean anything. He smells good. Did you know that? He smells…warm. It's weird. None of those things mean that I like him. Do they?"

Okay, so I 'forgot' to mention the fact that I love his eyes and the way they flash when we are fighting and they smile while he is yelling. That I love the way you can hear his voice rumble in his chest. And that my heart skips a few beats when we get close. That when he smiles I get butterflies. Absolutely ridiculous.

"But you like more than that about him don't you?" Layla asked with a knowing expression.

"Duh." I admitted lamely. "Okay, so I might…MIGHT…like him, but don't go running your mouth to him."

She nodded enthusiastically. "My lips are sealed."

Then the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be? It's still to early for trick-or-treat-er's." Layla said, baffled.

Then there was a knock.

"I don't know." I replied, getting up to answer the door.

Any guesses?

Yeah.

It was him.

I let Warren and Will in and went back into the living room with Layla.

"Layla, your lover has arrived." I announced upon my return, Layla was back on the ladder, stringing streamers across the ceiling.

She smirked down at me and Warren. "So has yours."

"Haha." I said dryly, looking at Warren, who was glaring at the red-head with narrow eyes.

"Get off there before you fall, Lay. I'll put them up." Will told his girlfriend, flying to the ceiling and taking the roll from her. "We came to help. Figured that the two of you couldn't cook the food and decorate at the same time."

"Great!" Layla exclaimed as she climbed down from the ladder. "Um, Elle, why don't you and Warren go into the kitchen and start on the food while me and Will decorate."

I hate you, Layla. I really, really do. And judging by Warren's face, so does he.

I mentally stuck my tongue out at her at that point.

"Fine." I grumbled walking toward the kitchen. "Come on Hotshot."

The kitchen was already a mess. Layla and I had cooked breakfast this morning for her parents before they went on their five day trip to Italy with some friends. Layla and I had to stay behind for school. I hate school.

"What did you two do?" Warren asked in his deep voice as he looked at the kitchen. I love his voice. It just makes you want to melt.

Damn it, Elle. Your brain is what has melted, you ditz.

You know. It is kind of weird how much I insult myself.

"We cooked." I shrugged, gathering dishes and sitting them in the already overflowing sink. The better part of Mrs. Williams cabinets was in that sink. There were only a few that still held clean dishes. Then I realized something. "Oh, my gosh, you can talk."

"Uh, yeah." He said slowly, probably not seeing what I was getting at.

"I was starting to think that you suddenly contracted laryngitis when you got within ten feet of me." I joked as I searched the fridge for ingredients. "I was hoping it wasn't contagious."

He rolled his eyes, put his jacket on the back of a chair, and grabbed a rag to clean the pancake mix from the island in the middle of the kitchen. He didn't say anything else unless he had to. And never, never touched me. Even when I was handing him something or going by him, he was careful not to bump me.

Yeah, Layla was right, he _so _liked me. If not talking to you or touching you means you like someone. FYI it usually doesn't.

Somehow we managed to make cookies and tiny sandwiches without saying a word. After a while it got old. Really old. I was chewing on my last nerve when he finally spoke.

"Are we putting icing on these things?" He asked as he pulled the cookies out of the oven without using one of those Pampered Chef gloves that Mrs. Williams had like twenty of. Icing? Real conversation starter there!…not.

"We don't have any, but there is some powder sugar in the left cabinet over there if you want to make some." I motioned with my head as I cut the ham sandwiches into fours.

"Forget it." He shrugged, tossing the mouthwatering cookies onto the stove top. That annoyed me for some reason. The fact that he just didn't want icing after he asked, not the tossing of cookies.

"No, we'll put it on them." I said, abandoning my task and marching to the cabinet and pulling out the bag of sugar.

He glared at me and pulled he bag away, putting it back in the shelf. "No, we won't"

"Yes," I retaliated, getting the sugar back out. Suddenly, it didn't matter that I liked him or he liked me. We were fighting again. For the first time in weeks. And it was…fun. "We will."

"No." He said, raising his voice slightly and grabbing the bag.

"Yes." I got the sugar.

"No." He got the sugar.

"Yes." I got it back.

"No." Damn, he took it.

"Yes, we will." I said, pulling it out of his hands. But this time he did not let go. Can anyone predict the product?

It exploded. And as we were veiled in a coat of white dust, he said something that really just irked my nerves.

"No. We. Won't." And he said it with that stupid little smirk that was just so damn hot.

He was on the floor before he knew what had hit him. And I was sitting on top of his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off." He growled, trying to push me off.

"Um, I'm thinking no." I smirked down at him. There was powdered sugar everywhere. Great, more mess.

"Please?" He begged, giving up on making me move and pushing his hair out of his face. His eyes were smoldering, as they always did, but this was different. There was something else there that I couldn't identify.

"What the heck did y'all do in here?" I heard Will's voice question from the doorway where he and Layla stood.

"Somebody wouldn't give me the powdered sugar." I said, pointedly looking at Warren. He gave me that sarcastic 'very funny' look, still glaring.

"Somebody else had to fight about." He remarked. I thumped him on the forehead for that comment. He pinched my left thigh that was still straddling his upper torso.

"Oww. That hurt!" I whined, poking his black t-shirt shrouded shoulder.

"Like that didn't." He responded, poking my stomach. I almost thought about making the Pillsbury Dough Boy sound. You know-Uw-hu-hu-hu-_hu_. But that would ruin the mood of the fight so I decided against it.

"Warren, stop." I ordered, pinning both his hands together on his chest.

"Warren, stop." He mimicked in a high-pitched voice, struggling to get his hands free. In his efforts, he managed to pull me close to him. Closer than we had been on the bus. I mean our noses were almost touching. His lips, those gorgeous full lips were only millimeters from mine. Slightly open, too. So freaking irresistible. I think this might have been going though his mind to because about that time, he stopped trying to get his hand free and had his eyes locked on mine, with that dazed look that boys get when they are thinking about girls and…stuff. And we were _so_ close. Then-

We were interrupted by laughter coming from the door.

"What?" We both asked in the same annoyed voice, looking to the area of laughter, to find not just Layla and Will, but Ethan, Magenta, and Zach as well. Great. Just Great. They had to go and ruin it all. I looked down at my still trapped victim to find him blushing. Warren Peace, blushing? Aww, that's just too cute!

The next thing I knew, I was the one on the floor and Warren was standing over me. Did I mention he was holding a bowl full of half-dried pancake mix that I had not poured out this morning? Well, he was. Truthfully, I was not the least bit surprised at what came next. Which was the feeling of slimy batter slowly running down my face.

"You. Are. So. Dead." I growled at him. I think I might have been a _bit_ more successful with the scare tactic if there was no goop rolling down my head. He rolled his eyes and walked into the living room.

"STOP!" I heard Layla yell as I jumped to my feet and was halfway to the other room in a single bound. I froze mid-air and managed to slip in the lovely gooey stuff that dripped onto the floor as I moved and fell flat on my face. I heard a deep chuckle coming from the doorway. Warren was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and that damned smirk on his sexy face. GRRRRR! I hate that boy.

To think that I almost kissed him a minute ago. Or thought about kissing him at least.

"Elle, if you get that junk on Mom's carpet, we're dead." Layla warned me.

"Fine. I'll just go take a fucking shower and get this shit off." I growled at everyone, then stalked out of the room. Carefully.

Do you know how many lather, rinse, and repeats it takes to get pancake batter out of my hair? Ten. I had to use, like, half a bottle of shampoo. Not to mention the fact that I had to don a sparkly blue fairy costume that Layla insisted I wear. By the time I had emerged from my room they had started the party. Some party. Will and Magenta were playing Twister while me and Warren sat on the couch watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Throughout the movie, I could feel Warren getting more and more tense as time passed.

Then his cell phone rang.

The melody and lyrics of Green Day blasted though the room. And Warren literally jumped a foot.

I found it really strange how he answered the phone. With fear.

"Hello?" His voice came out slightly shaky.

The other person said something. I could tell that whoever it was, he had a very deep voice. Kind of like Warren's.

Then anger shot across Warren's face, "Who the hell is this?"

Then fear again, "No." He whispered and dropped the phone.

An explosion interrupted the silence that had settle in the last five seconds. It was distant, but Warren was on his feet and out the door in seconds, leaving the rest of us, and a manically laughing cell phone, in his wake. I was the first to react and raced after him. He was headed toward the sound, toward his house.

I knew that because we had designated his house as the official hangout a couple weekends before. His mom was so cool. She even took my side when we started to fight.

We were about a block from his house when we saw the flames. Third house from the right. Warren's. I wasn't really surprised, with the way he had taken off at the house and the phone call. But I was still shocked. People were lined up outside, many on their cell phones, but no one doing anything. What could they do? They were only civilians.

Then there was a scream. Without stopping, Warren ran straight into the blaze with me only steps behind him. I am still not sure why I ran in, maybe it was just my 'hero mode' kicking in, maybe, though I was still mad at him, I didn't want to see Warren hurt.

With his power and my skin, it didn't burn, but I nearly collapsed right inside the door when I inhaled the smoke. Thinking quickly (yeah, I can do that), I covered my face in a mask of water so that I could breathe and plunged after him. He was headed to the source of moaning that had now replaced the screams, the kitchen.

On the way to the kitchen, there is a staircase that leads upstairs, like Layla's house. While running by, I almost swore that I heard footsteps running up the steps, but couldn't see anything through the smoke that was quickly filling the house.

In fact, it was getting so bad that I could barely see Warren in front of me when I heard a strangled cry come from his direction and running footsteps. I couldn't see a darn thing though. Damn smoke. Where had Warren went? I couldn't hear anything over the roar of the fire.

"Elle." I heard Warren shout over the fire. "Over here."

"Can't you do something about this fire? It's a little annoying." I called, walking carefully toward his voice.

"No, it isn't real fire, I can't control any of it. Can you do anything? Like that day on the bus with the flame? Or the school?" He asked from somewhere in front of me. I could tell that his voice was coming from somewhere low to the ground. Why was he on the ground?

"Hold on." I told him. Okay, so how to do something that you have only done when you so mad that you had absolutely no control of your emotions? Not easily.

I pressed my hands, palms together, in front of my face and took a deep breathe, pulling all the power I could in without bursting. Then, with a scream (from the force of the power), I let it all out, pushing my hands away from each other. I slowly opened one eye, afraid that I had not done the whole job. Ahh, quiet ice. The house around me was covered in a clear glaze of ice. And there was Warren in the center. A woman barely recognizable as his mom lay in his arms, covered in blood and burns.

"No." He said in a low, rough whisper when he saw her. "NO."

"We have to get her out." I urged Warren, who was staring in horror at his mother. He nodded and scooped her up in his arms. The house was much easier to navigate now that there was no smoke and flames. I took a glance up the staircase as we passed and saw nothing. I could have sworn…oh well, we had more pressing business at the moment. Upon exiting the house, we heard a collective gasp of all the people who had seen us run in. EMTs rushed us, trying to take Warren's mother away from him and attacking us with little breathing masks. Couldn't the idiots see that we were fine?

"Miss were you are the site when the event happened?" A policeman asked after he tapped me on the shoulder. Warren was being swept away from me and toward an ambulance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Will flying in with Layla in one arm and Magenta in the other, Zach and Ethan were holding onto either foot. So much for the secret superhero thing. We had pretty much broken every rule on that subject in the last five minutes.

"No, I was at my house a couple blocks that way." I told him pointing to the direction of Layla's house. This guy looked really funny. He reminded me of Commish Gordon with that handlebar mustache, but he was really young, maybe twenty-three, and the look just overwhelmed his features.

"I see. Why did you go in there with that young man?" He asked the question like it was a crime.

"No one else was here to play hero at the time." I shrugged, raising up on my tip-toes, looking though the crowd, trying to find Warren.

"Do you know how the fire was put out?" This was starting to get on my nerves.

"I did it." I said absently as I caught sight of a black and red streaked head by an ambulance that was loading a gurney into it.

"How?" He asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Go stick your head in the house. It's really cold and there is ice everywhere. Get my point?" I asked, I couldn't tell the world I was a super, but I was allowed to hint to an officer of the law. Rules are so stupid.

He stared at me in confusion for a minute, then a look of realization came over his face.

"Oh, well…yes…thank you. You may go." Then he ran. Chill out dude, I'm not going to freeze your ass. I rolled my eyes and started looking though the crowd for Hotshot, who I had lost when the ambulance shut its doors.

I heard the roar of sirens and someone with a very deep voice shouting after it. The only intelligible words were 'damn assholes.' I got the impression he was mad. How about you? Well, I was wrong. He was not mad. There wasn't a word that even came close to describing his rage.

"Hotshot, chill." I said once I reached him, grabbing both arms, which were pretty much in flames, and freezing them the best I could. It just managed to make steam rise from his arms.

"Damn idiots won't let me come. Told me to go to the fucking police and make a damn statement cause it was my house." He was ranting at the top of his lungs. Then I, being me, got a brilliant idea.

"Where are you keys?" I asked suddenly. It shut him up at least.

"What keys?" He asked confused after being jerked out of his ravings.

"The keys to that hunk of metal sitting in Layla's driveway. The one with two wheels and a motor." I told him rolling my eyes.

"Right here." He said pulling them out of his pocket.

We beat the ambulance to Gotham Memorial. A good hour and a half drive that we made in forty minutes. I drove, so go figure. When his mom arrived, the doctors allowed Warren to sit alone in the special waiting room outside the ER, so that he could fill out paperwork and all that junk. It was another hour before Will and Layla burst into the waiting room I was in, followed by Will's parents and the rest of the gang.

"What's going on? We couldn't get a clear answer out of anyone at Warren's house." Will asked soon as he saw me.

"It's Mrs. Peace. She is burned really bad and that's all I know. Warren hasn't came back yet and nothing has blown up so she's not…" I didn't want to say the rest of the sentence. Everyone nodded in understanding.

"So now we wait." Layla said, flopping down in a chair beside Will.

And wait we did. For six long, grueling hours. And even then we didn't get answers. Just Warren.

Though I was content with that at the moment.

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**A/N: Well? Worth the wait or not? Please review! **


	7. 4 Steps of Shock

**A/N: Got this one out faster than I thought, Enjoy!**

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"_So now we wait." Layla said, flopping down in a chair beside Will._

_And wait we did. For six long, grueling hours. And even then we didn't get answers. Just Warren. _

_Though I was content with that at the moment. _

He looked like shit. I wasn't going to lie. Hot shit, but shit none-the-less. Falling into the chair nearest the door, he propped his elbows on his knees and sank in head down into his hands. He looked…defeated. Something you would not put with in the same sentence as the Warren Peace I knew.

Not sure if I should or not, I walked over and sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder to let him know I was there. He flinched at my touch and jerked his head up.

"Hey," I greeting him with a little forced smile. Smiles do wonders people, so stop getting mad at me for putting one on at a time like that.

"Hey," He responded hoarsely, his voice heavy with exhaustion. He looked around the waiting room to see everyone staring at him, then turned back to me. "What time is it?"

"Almost 12:30 in the morning." I answered, looking at my cell phone. Then added cautiously. "What did they say?"

He snorted and shook his head in disgust. "They didn't say shit. Haven't told me anything. I just…don't know." He told me, beating his knee with a fist in anger. I placed my hand over it to stop him. To which he growled in frustration and intertwined his fingers with mine.

Okay, so I know it was probably for his comfort and had nothing to do with any feelings, but that didn't stop the electric sparks that shot of my arm when he did. It was all I could do to keep from jumping for joy. Which would just top off the fact that I was still in my fairy costume. That was when I realized, I was head over heels for the guy. Shit. How did I get there?

I wrapped my other arm around his shoulders. Completely for his comfort of course. Nothing to do with my nagging feelings that were getting really hard to ignore. He turned his head to me and was about to say something when the doctor walked in. Damn, would people stop interrupting for just, like, five freaking seconds? Even if you are a really important doctor who will tell us about Mrs. Peace. A girl needs her privacy. Even if she is dressed as a fairy in the middle of the waiting room at midnight.

Warren pulled away from my semi-hug, but did not let go of my hand. He has very big hands, too. His fingers were probably three inches longer than mine and his grip was hot as fire. Plus, you know what they say about guys with big hands…They wear big gloves.

Wait…Oh my gosh… I can't believe you were thinking that! Dirty minds, people. Dirty minds.

The doctor had that annoying serious look on his face. The one that most people would classify as 'grave'-I think because…well never mind, just look at the damn word and you will get the point.

He started with clearing his voice. I _hate _when doctors do that. It's like they are saying 'Look here, I am fixing to tell you something that will make your life suck.', but here was what he really said - "Son, I am afraid that will have to involve the police in this case."

Dude, they already were, his house was half burned down. That is a police type thing. I think that this doc had been sneaking the morphine for too long if he didn't know that.

Plus, that told us crap about the actual situation. Was Mrs. Peace going to be okay or not?

"What do you mean?" I heard Mr. Stronghold ask, Warren's grasp on my hand was getting tighter. Not all that uncomfortable, really.

"We have found a laceration on her abdomen that may prove fatal." He told Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold, who stood up and started a whispered conversation with him so that us kids couldn't hear.

Yeah, well that's nice. _So, why the hell were you not back there saving her right now? _Seriously, for all the PhD's and shit, doctors can be so stupid at times.

Warren's grasp was literally cutting my circulation off now and his breath was coming in panicked bursts that he was trying to quietly calm down. I heard him swallow and then he ran his hand though his hair, something he did often when distraught, I had noticed.

Even though I didn't want to, I pulled my hand away from his.

Wait, don't start calling me an idiot yet. I had a cause.

Marching up to the doctor, I looked him right in the eye and asked, "Is she going to die?"

A little blunt, but we had to know and I wasn't going to put up with all this beat around the bush doctor talk.

"Yes." He returned just as bluntly. I heard Mrs. Stronghold gasp and saw her sag against her husband.

"Thank you." I said without the least bit of gratitude and pulled out my cell phone. If anyone could fix the most dire injury, J'onn could. It took a minute for the connection to go though, it is quite a ways to the Watchtower from were I was standing, then I heard-

"Hello, Duchess, how is it going down with the civies?" Of all the people in the Watchtower, I had to get Flash. It could be a good thing…if he ever stopped with the jokes he would be the first on to reach anybody I needed. But, you know Flash...

"Not so great, is J'onn there?" I asked, hoping he would be serious for once.

"What? Don't want to talk to the old Flash? I'm hurt, Duchess, real hurt." He said in mock sorrow. Damn it. Just this once I wish…unnnhhh.

"Flash, I'm serious, this is kind of important, life and death and all that jazz. I need to talk to J'onn. Is he there?" I asked, emphasizing the matter as much as I could with my annoyed tone. I love Flash, I really do, but sometimes I just want to strangle the funny out of him.

"Does he ever leave? Be back in a second." And he was, but it was another minute before J'onn was there, answering in his stoic voice. "Hello, Elle, are you in trouble?"

Why was that the first question that they always ask? Had I done anything to make them think that _I _would be in some kind of trouble? Lately anyway?

"Not me." I replied, "Look, my friend's mom is hurt. Burns and apparently a fatal cut to the stomach. Can you help?"

"Elle," He said in an exasperated voice. " I told you I could not come down there every time some one gets hurt."

"But she will die if you don't." I told him, tears welling up in my eyes at the thought.

He must have heard my distress, cause then he said, "Where are you?" In that okay-fine-I'm-coming tone that you could barely detect in his emotionless voice. Seriously, I have the men in my life so whipped.

"Gotham Memorial Hospital." I told him in triumph after which he said he would be there shortly. See, so whipped. Wrapped around my little finger. Hehehehe.

"And you couldn't just call Bats about your problems?" That was Flash again.

"Oh shut up." I told him, rolling my eyes. "Is J'onn on his way?"

"Walking to the infirmary to get all his junk as we speak." He told me in a voice that practically shouted that I had hurt his poor, little feeling with my lack of regard for him. Big deal. By the guy a cookie and I would be his best friend again in no time.

"Great! Bye." I exclaimed, hanging up my phone before he answered my goodbye. "Warren, we have the best doctor in the galaxy coming to see her."

When he looked up from where I left him, I saw tears that he was holding back in his eyes. My heart went out to him, almost breaking on its way there. He didn't even say anything when I sat back down beside him. The tears had gone away and he was just sitting there staring. I think this was what the people of non-medical profession call shock. (Medical people probably have some big fancy name that nobody knows.)

So, _step one of shock: Be void of anything resembling emotion. _

"Who is it?" I heard Layla ask from across the room. Truthfully, I had forgotten the rest of them were there.

"J'onn." She already knew who he was, but the doctor was still in the room so I didn't want to say anything until J'onn got here.

"Oh." She replied in a quiet voice and curled back up in Will's arms where he had held her since the doctor came in. They were so cute.

I turned my attention back to the mute boy at my side. He had put his head down so that the hair fell in his face and covered any expression that might have been on it.

"I need to change shirts." He said after a long stretch of silence. He said it the way Two-Bit said Dally had his knife when the later had just been killed in The Outsiders. Like he was trying to think of anything but what was going on. But his shirt was pretty nasty. It was covered in blood and little bits of burnt skin. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? I had an iron stomach and it was almost making me gag.

"When J'onn gets here we can take a cab to Bruce's place. He'll have a change of clothes I'm sure." I told him, pushing his hair back tenderly. The muscle in his jaw was quivering slightly from being clenched tightly for so long.

"Who's Bruce?" He asked in a impassive voice. If I had been in the same situation, I would have been showing the full on water works by now.

"Bruce Wayne, he's sort of like my foster parent." I told him. Our relationship was a bit hard to explain. Foster brother might have been a better bet.

"Bruce Wayne? Like Wayne Enterprises?" He inquired, in the same voice as before. I had a feeling the emotions that he was keeping inside were going to burst out if he keep pushing them back long enough. I'm not sure I would want to see what happened to the four walls he was enclosed in if they did.

"Yeah, him." I replied. Where was J'onn? I know for a fact that it takes like ten minutes to get here from the space station with all the airborne crafts that were up there. Cause I tested them myself on numerous occasions. Illegally, for the most part. But that made it all the more fun.

As if on cue, J'onn and Bruce both burst though the door. Well, they didn't burst. More like made an entrance. What else could a really tall guy in an Armani suit and a really tall green alien do but make an entrance?

"Okay, Elle, where is she?" Bruce asked, apparently he had been filled in. Not surprised really. Bruce could find out information from a dead cat.

"Ask him." I said, pointing disdainfully to the doctor that was still being questioned by Mr. Stronghold.

"Steve, I think I can take it from here." Bruce said as he walked up. The doctor recognized him at once. You could tell because he went all bug-eyed and everything. But then again, Bruce was being followed by a blue-caped, green alien that was nearly seven feet tall. That probably helped with the bugging.

"Mr. Wayne! What a surprise. May I offer you-" he started, that was started until J'onn put up a hand.

"Where is the woman you are treating for burns and other wounds?" The doctor, visibly shaken by my large green friend, walked J'onn into the ER and down a hallway, leaving Bruce with us.

"You all look like you could use some rest, I have plenty of rooms if you need a place to sleep tonight. It's far to late to make a trip back to Maxville." I had a feeling he was pretty much telling Warren that he should come stay with him, but didn't want to directly tell him cause he knew he wouldn't. Bruce was very persuasive without you knowing it. Of course he had been in the situation before. Dick Grayson needed a little persuading to stay make him stay with Bruce.

"Are you sure Bruce? We don't want to intrude." Mrs. Stronghold said. She looked like she needed more than just rest, she needed a strong drink. A very strong drink. Absinth maybe?

Come to think of it, that would be pretty funny to see the famous Jetstream trying to chase that little green fairy. Hehehe, I could so send that into America's Funniest Home Videos.

"No, no, I have more rooms than I can possibly fill as it is." That was the understatement of the century. He had so many rooms that he didn't even know where to find the keys to half of them, let alone fill them.

"I say we go and come back in the morning." I proposed. Then turned to Warren. "What do you think, Hotshot?"

He didn't say anything, just stared at the floor.

_Step two of shock: Stare at anything and remember all the great times you have had with the person you are grieving for. _

"That's a yes, then. Let's go." I said, rounding everyone up, confident in J'onn's ability to make everything better.

We arrived Wayne Manor in ten minutes and I heard a gasp from the gang. I looked up to see if there was anything blowing up or intent on fatal injury, then, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, I realized it was the house that they were looking at. It's just a freaking house guys, come on. Sure, it has three floors, 121 rooms, a ballroom, not to mention the gigantic cave under it in which you would find the Batmobile and all Bat's junk, but it's still a house.

Warren, who was beside me, didn't do anything to show he was amazed. Not really surprising. He was holding my hand again. Not really sure when it happened either, somewhere between here and the third stop light from the hospital, I think. I wasn't complaining that he was touching me in anyway, shape, or form. Which kind of surprised me seeing as he was on my asshole list only hours earlier for the pancake mix in the face thing.

Alfred greeted us at the door and showed us to our rooms. Well, showed everyone else to their rooms, I already had one from when I lived here. Everyone was on the same hallway as me though, that was nice.

I was starting to doze off when I head the sound of many things crashing. Many breakable things. Then my door flew open to reveal a very frightened Layla.

"Elle, you have to get down to Warren's room, he's gone crazy." she told me in an agitated voice.

_Step three of shock: Go nuts. _

When I got there, Mr. Stronghold was about to break the door down. I could hear more breaking noises coming from the room. Uh-oh that one sounded like one of Bruce's ancient Chinese vases.

"Wait!" I yelled at Will's dad. He backed away when I slid up next to him.

Yes, slid, cause Bruce had polished hardwood floors and I was in sock feet. It was really fun to do on rainy days.

Back to Warren's door.

Bruce's house had one fault. Locks were useless. To me at least, but then it could take a pretty strong door to keep me out. Just cause I'm special like that. The fact that I could just fill the key hole with water and freeze until the ice broke the lock enough that I could move the ice so that it popped the lock or dehydrate the wood of the door until is shrank and fell open. I chose brake it and the door swung open to revel a tornado zone. Or at least that is what it looked like. Broken glass, wood, and porcelain were everywhere. In the middle of the disaster zone was Warren, clothed only in a pair of red plaid flannel pajama pants that Alfred had brought him to change into.

Not the time to say this, but Warren Peace is ripped. Total hottie complete with a full set of washboard abs on dark tan skin. It wasn't just his abs tough, it was all of him. His arms, his shoulders, his pects, his...everything. Pure, dangerous muscle. Yum. Okay, I had a little case of hottie-fever, back to the story.

"Uh, guys, let me handle this." I said to the crowd behind me. Yes, Elle, because you handle crazed teenaged boys with murderous rage everyday.

"Elle, you can't. You don't know what he will do." Will argued gallantly, flinching as another vase hit the wall and shattered. " Let me stay in here at least."

"No, he doesn't need a crowd of people, Will. He needs…I don't know what, but I am going to find it." I told him, promptly shutting the door in his face and placing a three legged chair under the knob. Like that would keep the strongest teen in the country out if he wanted in. Seriously, I can be so stupid sometimes.

"Get out." Warren growled, not even looking my direction as he slammed another of Bruce's priceless vases against the wall, where it promptly shattered into thousands of pieces. If the superhero thing didn't work out, Warren could be the head guy for the demolition crews that pull down all those old buildings. It would probably take him two seconds flat to destroy a twenty floor skyscraper. Plus, he would look so cute in one of those little hardhats.

"What a way to thank a host. Though, I think Bruce might like the new décor." I commented as I stretched myself across the huge king-sized bed. Might as well get comfortable, Warren seemed fired up enough to stay in his rage for hours, so we would probably be in here awhile.

"I told you to get out." He retorted to my comment in the same low growl. His eyes looked lethal, pure anger raged in them like fire.

"And obviously I'm not doing it." I told him while examining a nail in indifference. That is so fun to do to angry people. It confuses them. I probably shouldn't have though cause that's when he really freaked.

"All I want if for all you fucking people to leave me alone!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, smashing a ceramic statue into smithereens.

Uh…yeah. NOTE TO SELF: Don't try the nail thing with Warren again.

"Now, you know us better than that." I reminded him softly. He responded by hitting a flower pot with a fire ball and burning it to cinders.

"You guys are the reason that she's dying. She said to put you first. I shouldn't have LISTENED. I should have been there when it happened. But I_ wasn't_." He yelled again, this time, punching the wall. Well, I hope Al can cover up charred fist prints, cause that one looked permanent

"What are you talking about?" I asked bewildered. It was our fault? How did we start the fire?

"I tried staying away after that day, but she made me go to Layla's stupid party because she was afraid he would show up there and hurt you. Said he wouldn't dare go after HER." His voice rose again when he smashed a piece of pottery.

"Who wouldn't?" Exactly who were we talking about here?

"I can't tell you." He said in a stricken voice that sounded full of a million emotions. Fury, hurt, regret, you name it.

"Why?" I asked indignantly. Didn't the boy know that I could be trusted with stuff like that? Okay, so I hadn't really given him the grounds to think that. But I so, totally could.

"Because, I tell you…"He whispered, his face contorted in anger…and fear. "and you _die._"

"Oh," I said meekly. That was a nice little thing to know. Don't you think?

"I'm sorry," He mumbled, falling onto the bed to lay down beside me. So much for hours of rage that I was expecting. "This is all my fault."

_Step four of shock: Blame yourself_

"Well, yeah." Warren's head jerked toward me with an accusing glare. "I'm kidding. Gosh. Look, it isn't your fault, even if you were there, you have no way of knowing if you could stop it."

He nodded in response, probably to shut me up, then looked at the ceiling.

In all his misery, he still looked like a work of art, really. The deep lines on his brow, the hollows of his jaws, and the way his hair fell. There was a Greek god look to him as lay there, his arms resting above his head, flame tattoos standing out against his wrists, with a thin glaze of sweat shining on his torso from the exertion of throwing things across the room. The dim light of the room shadowed the indentions of his muscles, enhancing them. If I were anyone else, I would have jumped his bones. In fact, I was having a hard time not doing so right now. But I was me and me didn't do things like that to guys who might just like me. It might ruin what little we had to start with.

But, ohhhhhh, those abs! How could a girl live without them?

He chose this moment to cough and the sound jerked me out of my thoughts. I could see, in that moment of vulnerability just how exhausted he was.

"You should get some sleep." I suggested to him. Because, you know, I would just sleep like a baby if I knew that my mother was in a hospital with a giant alien and might not make it. You're sure a Smartie, Elle. "Or," I said awkwardly, rising from the bed, "I could go and let you be alone or whatever."

I was surprised when his warm hand shot out and grabbed my wrist as I turned away. I whipped my head back around so fast that little bubbles started popping up in my eyes. When they cleared, I looked down at him questioningly.

"No." Warren said in a barely audible whisper, looking up at me with his liquid black eyes. What could you say to those eyes? "Stay."

And with that, I was laying comfortably against a very warm tan chest, one hand still in his and the other resting on a muscular shoulder and his arm wrapped around my shoulders. We didn't say anything to each other. Warren was still staring at the ceiling, thinking about his mom I suppose. I doubt he noticed that he was stroking my upper arm with a thumb, but hell knows I did. Every time he swept his thumb across my skin, I could just feel the tingles running up and down my arm like they had earlier with him holding my hand at the hospital.

"Elle?" I heard him ask him in a deep voice, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" I responded, looking up from his warm chest, to see him from looking down at me.

"Are you asleep?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." I joked. I couldn't help it. Who asks that when the person is looking right at you?

"Oh," He didn't seem to know how to respond. Apparently, he thought I was a sleep talker.

"I'm awake, Warren." I told him, trying not to roll my eyes.

"Okay."He nodded, not closing his eyes, but again looking at the ceiling. Where was he going with this?

"What do you want, Warren?" I asked into his neck, which was where I had lain my head on account that it felt like it weighed 20 pounds from lake of sleep.

"Thanks. You know…for calling J'onn…and coming in here. Just thanks." He said, letting go of my hand and wrapping his other arm around my waist, pulling me closer in the process. Not that I was complaining one bit. Not even when he nestled his face into my hair and, after a while, his even long, even breathes let me know that he had finally fell asleep. Nope, not one complaint from Elle Brookes about her current situation.

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**A/N: Hey guys how did you like it? I know Elle has lost some of her sarcastic side. I have even gone though the chapter about three times just to make her sound a little more like herself. There is one more kinda serious chapter, then it is pretty much back to normal until...you thought I was actually going to tell you, didn't you? Well, please review, cause I want to know if the story sucks or not. Thanks for reading. Chao.**


	8. People Talk Too Much

It was probably about five in the morning that I heard the whimpering. Then I got thrown across the bed. Which confused me because I didn't remember at first that I had fallen asleep in Warren's room. When I opened my eyes, Warren was tossing back and forth, pushing something invisible away from him.

"Stop. You're going to kill her." He mumbled in an anguished tone. Sounded like he was dreaming about his mom's attacker. "Dad."

What? Dad? That doesn't make sense. Was he calling his dad for help? That didn't make sense either.

Crawling back across the bed, I shook him roughly by the shoulder. His expression scrunched into one of pure agony. "Warren, wake up."

"Don't…Elle…no!" He cried out. I was in his dream? Ohh, I feel special now. Well, except the fact that it sounded like I might be dying in his dream. That part didn't seem very special.

"Wake up, boy, you're dreamin'." I said, slapping his face lightly.

"Elle. NO! SHE'S DYING! STOP!" He screamed, sitting straight up and opening his eyes, breathing hard. Then he saw me. His looked visibly relieved, ran his hands though his hair, took a deep breath, and pulled me wordlessly to his body with one muscular arm. "You're alright."

"Worried?" I asked. I heard him swallow and nod.

"He was trying to kill you." He whispered, still breathless. I could tell from his voice that he didn't like whoever 'he' was. Then again, I'm not sure I liked him that much either if he was trying to kill me.

"I heard that much." I told him, which made him let me go. Darn.

Warren ran a hand across his sweat glazed forehead and though his hair. "I-I was talking?"

"Only a lot." I said with a little sarcasm. It helps to lighten the mood sometimes.

"Shit." He cursed, pulling my shoulder so that I had to look him in the eye. "What did you hear?"

"I was getting murdered. That was about it." Okay, so that was a lie. But he seemed so upset that he had been talking, that I figured I would use my good deed for the day and not tell him about the 'dad' part. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, fine. Let's just go back to sleep."

Then, pulling me back down with him, he crashed onto a pillow and appeared to go back to sleep within seconds. Except for the fact that his breathing was a little to fast and the soft snore a little to loud. Faker.

Not that I really blamed him. If I had just seen me murdered, I wouldn't sleep very well either. I ran a calming hand over his bicep until I finally heard his breathing return to the long draws of a sleeper.

I woke up hours later, still held tight in Warren's arms. De'ja vu, no? Only this time we weren't on Layla's couch. We were on a big, comfy bed.

"Good, you're awake." I could hear his voice rumble deep in his chest when he spoke and the whisper of a breath against my cheeks when he spoke. It just made me shiver all over.

"And would love to go back to sleep." I mumbled with a groan (to cover the sigh I was about to let out from waking up where I was).

"Alfred came in here a little while ago." He said, thankfully not letting go of me.

"Oh?" Ummm, that could be bad.

"There is a tray with breakfast on it on the table of over there." He motioned behind him with a jerk of his head.

"You mean what's left of the table?" I asked playfully, smiling against his shoulder. He has a very nice shoulder. It's all smooth and nice and muscular, just like the rest of him. Yeah, that sentence can so be taken the wrong way.

"Yeah…sorry about that." He apologized. In my opinion, he didn't sound all that sorry. "Are you getting up to eat?"

"Wasn't really planning on it. Were you?" I asked, praying he would say no, just so I could stay in his arms longer.

"I'm not really hungry." He replied in a sad voice. That made me feel awful. Here he was, stricken by the near death of his mother, and I was enjoying being so close to his muscular body. I'm horrible. But every girl on earth would probably be thinking the same thing. Would you not? I rested my head back down on his chest, right above his heart, which was beating loudly in my ear. The skin over it was blazing, like his heart was burnt from the pain and trying to light him on fire.

"Did Al say if J'onn had called?" I asked after a while. It was not really like J'onn to keep us uninformed unless he was busy. I'm not sure if that would be good or bad in this situation.

"No." Then he went quiet and I went back into a half-sleep.

Notice I didn't use any of that stupid 'tell me all your troubles' or 'let it all out' shit therapists try. Newsflash, most of the time, it doesn't help. Just proves very annoying to the distressed person. Believe me, I know.

A knock about thirty minutes later jolted us out of our silent daze.

"Come in." I said automatically, not thinking of who it might be. Or the fact that I was currently wrapped in a pair of muscular arms and pressed against the bare chest of the very hot Warren Peace. Oh, and I was laying a bed with that half-naked boy.

It was Bruce.

Apparently Warren's oh-shit-it's-her-dad instinct kicked in and he sprang away from me and to the other side of the bed.

"I saw that, boy." Bruce warned Warren with a pointed eyebrow raise. Warren blanched, backing further into the pillows, eyes widening when he hit the headboard. I think he was a bit scared of Bruce. Don't you? "Elle, I was rather…surprised when I didn't find you in your room this morning."

"Yeah, well, you know me." I said with a smile. I can melt Bruce with a smile. Believe me, I could get away with murder in this house. "Always right in the middle of the disaster zone."

"Yes, I do." He said grimly. Looks like smiles weren't working this morning. "Why don't you go down to the kitchen. Will and the rest of the kids are down there already. I have something to discuss with the boy here."

If possible, Warren went paler at this statement. Ghost white does not look good on Warren Peace. I didn't think it was possible, but apparently it was.

"I don't think it would bother Warren if I stayed in here. Would it Warren?" The boy shook his head vigorously. I could almost hear him praying_ 'Don't let him kill me. Please. Please. Don't leave me alone and let him kill me.' _I almost laughed, except that might be a bit awkward seeing as there was nothing funny. To them at least. Personally, I thought it was pretty hilarious. "See Bruce."

"Elle." He said emphatically, pointing at the door.

"Fine." I growled, making a scene of stomping dramatically to the door.

Did Bruce seriously think it was that easy? He was talking to the girl who had free reign of this house day and night for four years. I knew every single passage in the place like the back of my hand.

So, turning on my heel when I shut the door, slammed it actually, and marched toward my room, where I slipped though the little door behind the bookshelf that, in turn, lead to a little crawlspace behind another bookshelf in Warren's room. Real original, I know. But I wasn't complaining about the architectural originality at the moment, because I could hear every word Bruce and Warren were saying. Well, what Bruce was saying. Warren didn't seem to be talking to much. There was a little crevice I could see though to. Warren had moved from being pressed against the headboard to sitting on the foot of the bed, hands gripping the sheets on either side of him, while Bruce paced aristocratically in front of him.

"Mr. Peace, I feel I should tell you what I have found out about your mother's attacker, but I am not sure if you don't already know who it is?" Bruce looked down at his, his eyebrows furrowed. Warren's head snapped up, eyes wide, giving him the hoot owl look with his dark hair framing his face. "You do know, don't you?"

"Uh…yeah…I do." Warren finally said, more to the floor than to the man standing in front of him.

"Well. I am not surprised. The authorities are famous for telling the wrong people first." Bruce told him with a shake of his head. "I just never thought they would be so stupid as to tell a sixteen-year-old boy the entire situation, and not bother to say anything to the Justice League."

"They're obviously not that smart at the moment if they can allow ten maximum security super villains to escape in the first place." Warren replied with a sardonic laugh. Uh…what was that? Did he say ten?

Hold on.

WHAT?

What the hell? TEN?

"True. Very true. Has your father tried to contact you in anyway?" That comment floored me. Actually it did more than that. I was falling straight though the floor and on my way down to the basement.

Father?

FATHER?

__

FATHER?

He had to be kidding.

Warren's _father!_ As in 53 causalities, 107 injured. _That_ Warren's father?

Well. That was officially the shock of my life.

But then again, it made so much sense. What he had said in his sleep. Him tensing up before the explosion. The phone call. The laughing. The footsteps on the stairs. Warren saying that his mother had been more worried about us than about herself. She didn't think that he would come after her because he had loved her, but come after us instead. Cause we were nothing to him...and everything to Warren.

"Yeah, right before the house caught fire." Warren told Bruce.

"What did he tell you?"

"He said 'I've got her, kid.' then I asked who the hell was talking and he said 'Does the boy not recognize his old man.' and then I ran to the house cause I heard an explosion." Warren relayed the nutshell events of the night before with a rough, gravelly voice, like he didn't want to say it. Not that I would either.

"What number did he call you from?" Bruce inquired with his precise system of detective work.

"It was my house phone." Warren responded. At least Warren's dad was a smart convict.

Really, it annoys me so much when crooks do stupid stuff like call from their own cell phones, it's just stupid. Yeah, it helps the police, but _come on_, have a little common sense.

"Do the others know?" Bruce asked. Good question. Did any of the others know? Will might.

"I didn't tell anyone. Actually, I tried to stay away from all of the them soon as I found out so that he wouldn't…you know…go after them." Warren told Bruce with a grimace. "I think Elle knows something is going on with someone, but not that it is my father."

Well…yeah…not anymore.

"I had a feeling she would probably have gotten it out of you by now." Bruce said. I could tell from his implying tone that he was going somewhere with this. Oh…no…not that! "She slept all night in here last night?"

Damn. It was that. I was praying Bruce wouldn't strangle him or something. He hadn't even asked me out yet.

Warren flushed again. "Uh…well…you see…most of the night…we didn't…I mean."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. Do you know how menacing Bruce looks with that raised eyebrow? He's freaking scary. I don't know how Warren was holding up. Then his voice got real low and he towered over Warren and growled, "You listen to me, boy. You hurt my little girl and you'll have more than just your dad to deal with. Understand?"

Warren, who was already pretty pasty, went white as paper. "Yes, sir." He managed to say.

"Good. I'm glad we got that clear." Bruce said in his old voice again, walking out the door and closing it behind him.

Okay, I know that was probably very traumatic, but Warren's expression was so freaking hilarious that I burst out laughing as soon as Bruce was out the door.

"Okay, where are you?" Warren asked in slightly irritated voice looking around the apparently empty room.

I pushed the little door open and crawled into the bedroom.

"Hello." I greeted him perkily with a smile. I had to smile, he looked so funny. Angry as hell because I was spying on him, and continuously looking back at the door to see if Bruce would come barging though.

"Thanks so much for eavesdropping." He growled. Apparently, no matter if they like you or not, guys don't like you to over hear A. The boyfriend/father discussion (Even though Warren wasn't my boyfriend (yet) and Bruce wasn't really my father) or B. That their father is on the loose with homicidal intentions. And I had just heard both, so, one more strike and Elle was out.

"You know I would have found out eventually anyway." I told him, rolling my eyes and selecting an apple from the tray that Al had left earlier. "Were you even planning on telling Will? You know best friend and all, you would think he was going to be the first to know."

Warren glared at me from his seat on the bed as I plopped Indian style on a chestnut trunk against the wall that had somehow survived Warren's rage.

"I was keeping you all safe." He said hotly, laying back on the bed with a gusty sigh.

"Well, you know, if you hadn't come to Layla's party, he would probably have gotten us, or gone after you while you were at home." I thought out loud to myself, thinking he wasn't really listening, taking a bit out of the apple.

"Maybe I wanted that." He growled.

My eyebrows shot up and I nearly choked on the apple, "You wanted him to come after us?"

"No." He shouted sitting back up with his face contorted in rage, the red accents in his hair standing out sharply as his face grew darker. "I wanted him to come after _me_."

That comment stirred something in me, rage and fear, but I didn't show it, I just raised my eyebrows, "Yes, cause I would so like my homicidal father to come after me."

"Like you would know." Warren shot back with a glare.

I did know.

Okay, so I shouldn't have, cause he didn't really _know, _you know, but the idiot just had to go and push my big fat button. So, in anger, I chunked the apple I had been eating at him. Hard. It bounced off his cheek and left a smear of juice to run down his face. And he just blinked in surprise.

Then, I turned on my heel and stomped out of the room not trusting myself to not say something stupid like I usually do.

No one but Bruce really knew everything about my real family. Yeah, the rest of my foster family knew most of it, but not the whole truth. Just most of it. And I guess I just gave away what that little outburst was about. Shit. Can you do me a favor and forget that last part?

Will was still there when I got down to the kitchen.

"Good morning." He chirped through a mouthful of cereal.

Oh yes, it was a wonderful morning. Well, it had started out pretty good. A nice toned chest was a good thing to wake up to.

I scoffed, "Not really."

Pulling a bowl out of the cabinet, I slammed it down on the table, making Will jump.

"So I'm guessing everything isn't exactly peachy-keen on Planet Fire & Ice?" He questioned, putting down his spoon, a signal I took as him wanting to hear more.

"You could say that." I replied bitterly, pouring milk into my Coco Puffs and throwing myself down in the chair.

"He likes you, you know that, right?" Will asked tentively.

Wasn't against some kind of Code to say that to the girl your best friend likes?

"Yeah." That was all I was going to say. Cause right now, he didn't know that I like Warren back. Because I was mad at the latter and didn't feel like having Will going and blabbing about it.

Eventually Will left. It may or may not have had anything to do with my suggestion that he could go to hell if he said one more word. But, I wouldn't know for sure that that was it, just had a feeling it might be.

Then, just to piss me off probably, an apple was slammed down on the table in front of me by a tanned arm with a big hand.

"Care to explain this?" A deep voice belonging to the arm that was currently reaching over my left shoulder. Not bothering to turn to him, I shrugged and continued to munch on my Puffs. He responded to my silent answer with a growl though gritted teeth, "Elle."

I got him angry. Oh, goody. This could be one heck of a fight. I was mad, he was mad. Okay, let's go.

"Warren." I returned calmly, just because I knew he hated it so much. And Mr. Predicable over there did exactly what I thought he would. Fire crawled from his tattooed wrist up his bare arm. "Neat trick. Find something new, that one is getting old."

"Stop being a smartass, Elle. What did I say?" He asked in a voice that sounded like he was trying to restrain his anger and failing miserably.

"Like it matters." I said, pushing the bowl away and forcing my way out of Warren's barring arms, but he was fast enough to block me from escaping though the door.

He got that same expression as when I told him that he didn't care if I died after he saved me from that guy with the knife. Like he had been punched in the gut. Like it hurt him to think I didn't think he cared.

"It does actually. Sorry for caring about a person who thinks it's okay to throw apples at my head. Doesn't seem right does it?" He screamed. Did that seem a little obscure to you? Yeah, me too. Wait, did he just say he cared about me?

"Look, I don't want to talk about it. Okay?" I told him, trying to push past him. It didn't work. "Warren, move."

"Not until you tell me what is going on." He told me in that deep voice. Damn that stupid sexy deep voice. It was so intoxicating.

"Warren, please." I begged, pressing both hands against his bare toned chest and shoving him as hard as I could. The ass didn't budge.

"I'm not moving." He defied, crossing his arms and setting his feet apart so that he was nearly immovable. "Tell me why I got pegged with a slobbery apple."

"War-_ren._" I let my voice break just a little and let my bottom lip tremble slightly. True, I was upset, but that had nothing to do with it. You see, one good thing came of living with more men around than women. One hint of tears and boys hit the floor running. It's quite funny to watch, actually. And I had had years to perfect it so Warren was pretty much screwed in the defense department.

He sighed and moved to the side so that I could come though.

Works like a charm.

But then he followed me. What good did the trembling-lip thing do if the boy was just going to follow me? Clue: NONE!

"Elle, come on." He pleaded calmly. Give the boy some points, he just said a sentence without so much as a snarl. Surprised? "You know half my shit already, so if you think I am going to blackmail you with it or something, I am pretty much screwed because you have worse dirt on me with all that crap I told Mr. Wayne awhile ago. Please tell me. I know something is wrong."

Where the hell was a Snickers when you need a moment? Did he seriously think I didn't trust him that much. Hell, I trusted the boy with my life. He had already saved it. Remember? Knife, dude, arms bursting into flames. Yeah, thought you remembered.

"Warren," I started. "It's not that I don't trust you. Cause I do. It's just…"

Yeah, I don't have enough guts to tell him. So sue me.

He didn't erupt like it thought he would. But only because my cell phone started ringing.

"Who is it?" He asked before I even got it out of my pj's pocket.

I looked at the screen, "It's J'onn."

"Hello?" I answered.

"Elle, you need to get the boy down here right now." I heard him say. Damn his stoic voice, I couldn't tell if the news was good or bad.

"Why?"

"Just get him down here." He said. "See you soon."

Then he hung up.

"What did he say?" Warren asked, chewing his bottom in anxiousness.

"We need to get down to the hospital." I told him.

"Did anybody get my bike back last night?" I said I didn't know and went to look for Bruce and Alfred.

I found them in Bruce's study.

"J'onn said Warren needs to get down to the hospital. Did you get his bike back here?" I stuck my head in and asked.

"Yeah, Dick brought it in after our rounds last night. Keys are on the table in the foyer." He told me, looking up from the newspaper.

"Why didn't he come see me?" I pouted. Dick Grayson, a.k.a Robin, and I had not got along when I first moved in when I was ten, but after four years of living together, a bone-breaking fights, pies in the faces, and one incident with scrambled eggs and jelly in Dick's shoes, we got pretty close.

"That might have something to do with the fact that you were not in your room this morning when he came to find you." Bruce told me, giving me a 'better not catch you again' look.

"One room over, real tough find. Al, did you wash his clothes." I asked the old butler, who was sitting in a high-backed chair in the corner.

"Yes, Miss Elle, they are in his room and I gave him a new shirt as well. The old one was destroyed." He told me. I thanked them and turned to find Warren right behind me.

"Your clothes are in the room. Bike's here. Go get dressed and we'll head up there." He nodded and took the stairs three at a time. I ran to my room and threw on a pair of dark wash jeans, light blue shirt and my white Nike shocks and ran back out the door. Warren was walking out into the hall when I came back, buttoning a black button-down shirt.

"Who picked this out?" He asked in distain of his ensemble.

"Al, he is a very good stylist." I told him, rolling up his sleeves so that it showed off his muscular forearms and tattoos.

"I look like I'm going to a funer-" He stopped himself. He thought he looked like he was going to a funeral. I was praying to God that we weren't.

"You look damned sexy, now shoo, we need to go." I said, picking up my silver jacket on the way out the door and shrugging it on.

Warren hoped onto his bike, helped me settle in behind him and-whoosh. I thought I drove like a maniac. Hehe. I drive like a freaking grandma compared to him. Seriously, I don't think we touched the ground after we passed Bruce's front gate. We made it to the hospital in three minutes. It takes at least ten at night when there are hardly any cars out and it was morning rush hour.

But we got there, parked and I had Warren literally drag me by the hand through the door.

J'onn was waiting in the front lobby.

There was a certain look on his face that made my heart drop and Warren's grip on my hand get tighter.

Warren licked his lips and look a deep breath, "We're too late, aren't we?"

* * *

**a/n: Sorry it took so long guys.**


	9. Taken!

**A/N: Got this one out faster than I thought. I don't know, but I think you might like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Warren licked his lips and look a deep breath, "We're too late, aren't we?"_

J'onn broke into a wide smile. "What little faith you have in me Mr. Peace."

Warren and I both let out a deep breath that I am pretty sure neither of knew we were holding. She was alive!

"What room is she in?" Warren asked anxiously.

"Room 102. She was coming to a little earlier. Go on in." J'onn said, leading us to the door as he spoke and opening the door. I stayed put outside, not wanting to intrude, but Warren took one step in there and turned back and dragged me though the door anyway.

"I need you in here, Elle." He told me in a rushed whispered when he saw the perplexed look I gave him. I nodded and remained at his side as he made his way to the bed.

He stood there and just down stared at his mom. She looked better than yesterday. Her hair was shorter now, cropped to the shoulder rather than flowing down her back. She had bandages wrapped around most of her body, but her face and hands were still visible. She had a large blue and purple bruise covering most of the left side of her face, but other than that her facial features were unblemished by burns or scars.

But, she looked so…lifeless.

With stricken eyes, Warren turned to me, his black and red hair covering his face, "I have to get out of here." He whispered urgently, his hand gripping mine, trying to pull me to the door. "I can't stay in here."

"You have to, Hotshot." I said in a soothing voice, tugging his arm so that he came back. He looked like he was about to break. His dark eyes were getting watery from tears he still refused to shed, and he was biting the inside of his cheek so that they would not fall. Aww...he looked like a little sad puppy.

Warren looked back at his mom. She was still laying there, her chest lightly rising and falling.

"Elle, I c-an't." He barely whispered, his voice breaking when the tears started falling down his cheeks. Without thinking, I reached up and tenderly whipped them away.

"Yes, you can." I assured him, giving what I tried to make a quick hug, but he pulled me in and clung to me. It seemed like we stayed that way forever, him sobbing onto my shoulder and me telling him calming things in his ear. Finally, he lifted his head and let out a deep, shuttering breath.

"Sorry." He mumbled, harshly whipping at his eyes with the heel of his hand, turning a deep red from embarrassment. "That was stupid."

"No, it wasn't." I told him, pulling him to the side of his mother's bed and forcing him into a chair. A little blunt, probably, but he wasn't going to get there on his own. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, stay." He said, staring at his mother. "But, can you just not listen for a couple of minutes?"

So, I didn't listen while he talked to his mom.

Okay, so that was a total lie, I heard every word. I just won't tell you what he said. Cause that would be mean to tell his secrets like that. That, and then he would definitely know that I listened to him.

Finally, he warily rose from the chair and joined me by the window.

"When will she wake up?" He asked in a tired, gravelly voice. Great, he was looking to me for answers. I turned around, looking at his mom…and smiled back up at him.

"Looks like it might be in the next few seconds, if you ask me." I told him. Mrs. Peace was slowly moving her hand from on spot to the other on the bed.

Warren rushed to her side and picked up the moving hand while I ran to the door and called J'onn into the room. He examined her vitals and all that doctor stuff and made a positive nod in my direction, then sank into the corner to wait.

"Warren? What are you doing here?" His mother asked though cracked eyelids. J'onn had taken her off of the respirator when it was obvious that she could breath on her on.

"Your in the hospital, mom." Her son told her in a voice that was much stronger than it had been moments before. "Dad…uh…he…um…he lit the house on fire." Realization dawned on her face, an IV laden hand shooting to her stomach where there was a bandage over the knife wound.

"Where is he?" She asked in a small voice. Poor thing, she sounded so weak.

"I don't know. When we got into the house, there wasn't anyone there." Warren told her. Oh, crap! Note to self: Tell him about the guy running up the stairs.

Warren's mother's expression changed from one of slight fear to deadly anger. "You came in after me? How could you do anything so stupid, boy?"

"Mom." Warren said with an impish grin and rolling his eyes. " I'm a pyrokinetic. I _control _fire."

"You know as well as I do that you can't control his." She snapped. I had a feeling that, had she not been restrained by injury and IV, Warren would have been in for a whooping.

"Well, I did have a little help." He said in his defense, pointing to me. Great, point fingers and have her get mad at me, why don't you?

"Elle, how could _you _do something so foolish? I thought I saw a bit of brain in you?" She scowled me. Gosh, for someone who had been practically dead last night, Mrs. Peace bounces back into mom mode real quick.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Peace, I can take care of myself. I just hope the police have figure out how to unfreeze your house by now." I told her with a smile. She grinned back at me and shook her head.

"What are they teaching you in that school these days?" Mrs. Peace joked, laughing lightly, but then the laughing turned into a harsh cough.

That was when J'onn came toward the bed and started pouring medicine in her. "Ma'am, you are suffering from smoke inhalation. Try not to over-exert you lungs. I believe it is about time you children should be leaving. Mrs. Peace needs her rest."

I told Warren's mom good-bye and waited for Warren to do so as well. After he was finished, he joined me and slipped his strong hand into mine and gave it a squeeze.

"Let's get out of here." He told me with a bounce in his step that hadn't been there before, leading me back to the parking lot.

"I say we go get the gang and celebrate." I announced before donning my helmet and hoping on back of the motorcycle.

"And where would we do that?" Warren asked over his shoulder, turning the ignition.

Yelling over the roar of the bike, "There's this 18-under club and restaurant downtown. We can go there about nine."

Warren nodded and peeled out onto the road and head for Bruce's house.

We climbed into the limo about 8:45, dressed in the finest clubbing outfits chosen by Moi, Layla, and Magenta, and headed to Downtown Gotham. Where did we get clothes you ask? I happen to have used my great big puppy eyes on Gotham's richest resident and he bankrolled our entire shopping trip. Aren't I just the darnedest? Hehehe I'm so spoiled.

After the whole ID with the bouncer thing was done, we walked into the club and were surrounded by atmosphere of a base-beating rave. Except you know, there were no illegal drugs and alcohol.

"Elle! My girl, how are ya?" A handsome guy in sagging jeans and a white wife-beater came up and engulfed me in a bear hug. I hugged back and smelled the smoke on him.

"Gavin, I thought you ditched the cigarettes?" I asked, pushing him back, but he kept his arm around my waist. Don't worry, I'll explain in a bit.

"Well, you know how that goes. Killer over there seems to have missed your smoke free campaign." My friend said, gesturing toward Warren who was, indeed, smoking…from the ears, hair, nose, you name it. Shit. I forgot.

Pushing his arm away, I introduced Gavin to the rest of the gang, "Gavin, this is Layla Williams, Will Stronghold, Ethan, Magenta, Zach, and Warren Peace. Everyone, this is Gavin Tyler. His mom is the lady that plans all of the charity stuff in Gotham with Bruce."

Everyone greeted him…well everyone except Warren. He was still smoking. Someone has got to put that boy in anger management.

"Anyway, what's been going on in Gotham?" I asked as we walked to a table in the back that was big enough for everyone.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Crazy maniacs, stupid riddles, cat burglars, that kind of stuff. Hey Kate." He joked with me, then waved to a red-head in the throng of people on the dance floor, who giggled and waved back.

"Your lasted catch?" I inquired. Gavin was a bit of a player.

"Will be." He grinned mischievously and shamelessly stared at her chest as she danced.

I rolled my eyes. " Don't droll, it's a very big turn off."

He shrugged and replied smugly, "It's alright, the rest of me makes for it."

"I see no one has stopped by to deflate your ego lately." I told him. Just so you know, he wasn't really lying. He was definitely hot. The sandy blond hair that fell just right over his brillant emerald green eyes, strong jaw below a nice mouth, and a slight tan that accented the lean muscles in his arms. He was not quite as tall a Warren, but was still totally drool worthy. But I knew him to well to fall for him, so don't even start thinking down that line. Besides, I think you kind of know that I like someone else...

"And don't you try. I'm still recovering from your last round of treatment." He smiled, slipping into the booth. I followed and was joined by Layla and Will. Ethan, Warren, Magenta, and Zach slipped into the seats across from us. Warren was glaring at Gavin and me. I kicked him and mouthed 'what?', but he just shook his head angrily and looked away.

"You kids need anything?" A waitress in a black apron and notepad asked.

Gavin spoke up, "We need…let's see…one, two, five, eight…eight drinks 'S Coke okay for everybody? Yeah? Eight cokes and a bowl of Extreme Nachos."

"Put it on Bruce Wayne's tab." I added as she started to turn. I frequented the club enough when I was home in Gotham that Bruce had to set up a tab because he worried that I would get mugged if people knew I had money on me. Like _that _would ever happen in a safe little town like Gotham.

"You want to dance?" Gavin asked and pulled me out of the booth without waiting for me to respond.

"I thought you wanted that red-head?" I asked as we made our way to the floor. I could just feel the eyes of all the guys checking me out as I pranced by in my short while skirt, sparkling ice blue halter, and silver pumps. Why do guys always think with their lower parts? Not that I probably didn't encourage it with my skirt length. Or the absence of it. Hey, they don't have to look.

"Yeah, well, I figured you would want to know a secret and I can't trust Bruce to tell you." He said, putting his hands on my hips and moving to the beat. Whispering in my ear, he continued, "I heard my dad talking with the Supercontrol. There's been this really big break-out."

"Yeah, ten from the Max. I already know." I told him over my shoulder. I forgot to tell you. Gavin happens to be the Mayor's son. He knows everything that goes on in Gotham. And even some stuff his father doesn't know. Like the fact that I have superpowers But he doesn't like to broadcast it on account of the media attention and everything.

"Well, I'm a little more than surprised that you know that. Who told you?" He asked, not noticing that I was receiving a glare from the red-headed Kate.

"Warren's dad was one of them." I told him. Had it been anyone else but Gavin, I would not have let that secret out, but I knew a secret of his and his knew one of mine so, I knew he could keep quiet.

"Not surprised, where did you pick him up?" I could feel him smirk against the back of my neck.

"He goes to my school and happens to be the a great guy." I defended him. "Saved my life, actually."

"Really? Whatever you say. I might go have a talk with him, I think he has a thing for you." He told me. Gavin was like a brother when it came to guys likeing me. Between him, Dick, and Bruce, it was a wonder any guy in Gotham would come within a twenty foot radius of me.

"Oh, please, no. Bruce already did that first thing this morning. Thought I was going to have a heart attack." I begged, exiting the floor as the song ended.

Gavin smiled, "Just cause I love ya, I guess I won't."

"Plus you won't have the time to get a hold of that red-head if you wait any longer." I added as I sat down again at the table, which Layla, Will, Magenta, and Zach were leaving.

"That, too." He smirked, grabbing a loaded nacho from the bowl that had just been put on the table by the waitress and moving back toward dance floor to find Kate.

Ethan, Warren, and I stared at each other. Actually, let me rephrase that. Ethan and I stared. Warren glared.

"Well, as much fun as it is with you guys, I think I will go and find a dance partner." Ethan told us over his shoulder as he fled from the table, sensing the tension.

"Okay, what's the problem?" I asked after a few minutes of waiting to see if Warren would just say it without prompting.

"You know damn well what my problem is." He growled, glaring pointedly at Gavin, who was already dancing with Kate.

"Yes, cause it was so obvious that I was into him." I said sarcastically. "Dammit, Gavin is just a friend. My best friend actually. And he is clearly already occupied."

"Then why did you dance with him." He spat. Did he hear what I just said? I mean, seriously, one dance and I am in for capital punishment.

"Well, _One_-He was using me to get that red-head he is dancing with jealous._ Two_-He was telling me that he heard about the break-out and decided that seeing as I was a superhero, thought I should know." I told him with a glare that just challenged him to say something back.

"You don't like him?" He finally asked. Knew this was going somewhere.

"Just as a friend." I confirmed, then on a whim, added with a seductive smile, "Plus, I have my sights as someone else."

"Oh." He sounded a little sad about that. "Who?"

"Don't worry about it." I told him, and stuffed my mouth with nachos to prevent anymore questions from being answered. Looking around, I nearly choked when I saw Zach. He was doing this crazy half-running man, half-victory punch thing that was one hundred percent embarrassing. Poor Magenta. She didn't seem to mind though, she was just laughing and dancing with him. True love conquers all I guess. Even horrible dance moves.

"How does he know?" I heard Warren ask. Who? Oh Gavin knowing the super thing.

"He saw me loss my temper and freeze an elevator shaft me we were in when I was twelve." I told him, smiling at the memory.

"That sound interesting." Warren said, but I wasn't really listening. My favorite dance song in the whole wide world had just came on. Usher's 'Yeah'. Just because of the beat, not the lyrics. Cause if you stop to listen to them, it's about a girl who is dancing with her best friend's guy and is a slut. Not so great.

"Come on." I ordered, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the booth and onto the dance floor.

But he pulled back, "Elle, I don't dance."

My jaw dropped.

But he was hot. He had to know how to dance.

Everyone has their flaws, I guess.

"You'll learn." I insisted, giving his hand a yank and putting it on my hip along with the other one. Then yelled with the music. "_And I said YEAH!_"

Warren was such a liar.

He not only danced, but was actually pretty good at it after he relaxed. Which took like, five songs, but I wasn't complaining anymore, cause I had the floor thumping from the base under my feet, a superhot, supersweet, superhero to dance with, and I was having fun. So much fun that I didn't look at the time and it was well passed midnight when I stumbled from the dance floor, my feet sore and Warren with his arms still wrapped around me, both of us drunk from the energy of the club.

"It's been forever since I had so much fun." I announced, still a little short of breath, "But I'm beat."

"Oh, really, I'm not the least bit tired." Warren said a little distractedly, looking at me with those eyes. You know what I'm talking about. _Those_ eyes. The ones where a guy is only thinking of one thing and one thing only. And at the moment I believe that one thing was my lips because he couldn't take his eyes off of them.

"I wonder where the others went." I said out loud to myself more than him, knowing he wasn't listening, but I was thinking along the lines of Layla never letting me live it down if she saw me making out with Warren, which I was hoping that was where this was heading.

Luckily, they were nowhere to be seen. YES!

Gavin was already back at our booth, necking with the red-head and not paying the least bit of attention to the club around him.

"Looks like we won't be going back to the table." I said rolling my eyes at the couple and leaning on the wall to rest my feet. Never wear shoes with a three inch heel clubbing. Taking them off, I kicked them away disgust.

"I'm not really complaining about that." Warren said in a somewhat husky voice. Then lips crashed onto mine. Warren's lips. And they were awesome, wonderful lips at that. Soft and harsh and hot as I thought that they would be. Without breaking our lip lock, I slipped my arms around his neck and leaned back onto the brick wall. Actually, I think he pushed me into the brick wall. Which I was so not complaining about. Cause I was in heaven. I didn't know heaven was pressed against the bare wall by a very hot bad-boy that was an remarkable kisser. Did you? And thank goodness he was holding onto me cause I don't think my knees could have held me up with all the fireworks that were going off in my head.

Then he stopped kissing me and leaned his forehead against mine, breathing hard, "So, who was it that you wouldn't say you liked earlier."

"Oh, shut-up." I muttered and pulled him back down to me. This time the kiss went deeper, his tongue flicking out and skirting lower lip, feeling like a flame against my icy skin, which I gladly granted entry to. He tasted so yummy, too. Like milk chocolate and...fire. Without thinking, I lightly sucked on his bottom lip before releasing him. Where the hell that came from I don't know. Indian Jones and that Austrian Nazi chick, maybe. Well, wherever it came from, it yielded amazing results. Warren let out a moan from the back of his throat and pulled me in tighter to him.

"See, I told you they would get together." A smug voice said from behind Warren.

GRRRRRRRRRR! JUST ONE FREAKING MINUTE PEOPLE, THAT'S ALL I'M ASKING FOR: ONE UNINTERRUPTED FREAKING MINUTE.

But nooo, Elle can't get that, cause she is surrounded by people who constantly need ATTENTION!

Warren reluctantly stepped away from me so that I saw the entire gang watching us.

"Could you just have kept your comment to yourself by any chance? We were busy." I harped at them angrily as I retrieved my shoes.

"We noticed. And had time to debate rather or not we should tell you." Layla told me, grinning like she had won a bet. "But then we decided if we were going to make it back to Maxville before dawn, we might need to leave. Besides, Alfred is waiting with the car.

I shrugged, Warren and I could just resume our make-out session there since he didn't have to worry about driving home. The Strongholds were taking his bike home because he would be staying at their house until his was fixed and his mom was out of the hospital. I took time to say bye to Gavin, who was on a mission to get drinks for him and Kate as we left the club.

"See you later, I'll give you a call if I hear anything else on the breakout." He told me, practically running back to his table with drinks in hand.

"I'm sleepy." Layla said, laying her head on Will's shoulder. Will didn't look the slightest bit sleepy. In fact, his expression looked a lot like Warren's. All drowsy eyed and yearning. Boys.

"Yeah," Magenta said with a yawn, leading a nearly sleep-walking Zach by the hand out the door. "Me, too."

Uh, yeah, I wasn't.

Luckily, Bruce's smaller limo that he was sending us home in only seated six. Where could I sit? Why Warren's lap of course.

But we didn't kiss. Not in front of everybody. Well, that and there was the thing where Al was constantly looking into the rear-view mirror to see what we were doing. Why do limos even have those things? The blinder window is up half the time anyway. But Al wouldn't let us put it up. Meany.

So, I had to settle with Warren's strong arms being wrapped around me and him giving me a kiss on the cheek every now-and-then.

I guess I was wrong about me not being sleepy, cause within the time it took to get out of Gotham, I was out. It probably had something to do with my seat being an extra-toasty pyro that was a joy to fall asleep on. But anyway, I didn't remember anything until I felt myself being carried up stairs by those warm arms. I cracked an eye enough to see Warren and heard him say something I was too asleep to understand to Will, who was carrying Layla up to her room. Then he managed to get the door open and walk in my room, where he was promptly attacked by Neal and started whisper-shouting "Shut up you dumb dog, you'll wake her up." Then lay me down on the bed, took off my shoes, tucked me in, kissed my cheek Then he did the cutest thing.

He hovered over my face for a moment and the whispered, "Elle?"

"Mm-hmm?" I acknowledged him in my sleepy, half-daze.

Coming closer, he asked softly, "Can I keep you?"

In my sleepy revere, I chuckled, "Yes, Casper, you can keep me"

Warren smiled, realizing I had got the line, and brushed his lips softly across mine before he got up and walked out the door, flipping the light switch as he passed. I heard him quietly talking very fast to Will and descend the stairs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I believes this officially mean that Elle Brookes is taken!

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**A/N: Well? What do you think? Tell me please I need your opionion. R&R please!**


	10. Gavin Comes Though

**A/N: I was amazed at the last chapter's number of reviews. 13! Thanks goes out to all my readers, I'm glad you like my story. Enjoy!**

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I woke up with a smile on my face.

I had a boyfriend.

And he was super hot.

And super sweet.

And really muscular.

And an amazing kisser.

And totally incredible.

While I was still laying in bed, a knock came at the door, followed by Neal whining.

_Who the heck could that be? _I thought.

Layla would just barge right in. And so would Mrs. Williams. Mr. Williams would knock and then tell me who it was. The knocker did neither.

So, not thinking about being a total bedhead and still in my clothes from last night, I answered.

And blushed down to my toenails.

Warren was standing in my door, looking extremely sexy with his dark hair falling into his eyes and a slow grin on his lips.

"Good morning." He said, looking me up and down smirking at my obvious embarrassment over my appearance.

Why does this stuff happen to me? Most girls would think about appearance before slinging the door open. But no, not me. Not Elle Brookes. Grr. I'm so stupid.

"Morning." I answered in a high pitched voice caused from the anxiety of letting Warren see me like this. I probably had mascara stains under my eyes because I hadn't washed it off when we got home last night at 3 a.m. Who thinks about things like that at three in the morning?

"Will and me came over." He told me, shifting in a way that told me the smooth front was just that. He was nervous. Well, DUUUHHHH!

"Obviously, or you would not be standing in my door." I teased with a smile. "Hold on a minute, let me get dressed."

I closed the door, quickly pulled a pair of jeans and a blue rock tee on and, stopped to wash my face because I did indeed have mascara smeared under my eyes. Warren was still standing right where I left him, looking cocky with a hand in his pocket, leaning against the doorframe.

"Come on in." I told him, walking to the vanity and picking up a brush to try and tame my crazy bed-head hair. Warren, walked in slowly, looking around at the stuff in my room. He was glancing at the pictures on my dresser when I decided I wanted a black scarf from the top draw.

Problem: my bras were in the same drawer as the headband.

It's called toss and clean. You stuff stuff in random places to get the room clean faster. You really don't think of scenarios like this when you are tossing and cleaning.

"Let me get in that drawer." I ordered, placing myself between him and the drawer, hoping he wouldn't notice the contents if I just opened it enough to retrieve it.

It didn't work. I think guys just have an instinct that tells them where skimpy stuff is. Like bras. Cause Warren's eyes went straight to them as soon as I opened the drawer. Great. I could just feel him smirk as he leaned over me.

"If you dare tell me I should have worn the pink one, I'll kill you." I headed him off. Being around Gavin had taught me that if you didn't stop a boy before he started down that line of thinking, it would likely end in embarrassment. My embarrassment.

To my horror, he dipped his hand in the drawer and emerged with a skimpy little number hanging from his finger.

"Actually," Warren said in a matter-of-fact way in that slow, deep voice of his, leaning close to my blood red face and smirking. "I prefer black lace."

I nearly died. Grabbing the undergarment, I threw it back in the drawer and slammed it closed after grabbing the scarg.

When I started to walk away, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. And then his lips were on mine, his arms pulling me tight into him. The fireworks were going off again and I snaked my arms around his neck to keep from falling. He tasted nice. Spicy and hot. That sounded really stupid. Of course he tasted like that, like fire. Gosh, Elle, you're an idiot. Then his lips left mine and his kisses started to trail down my neck, landing on my collarbone. If fireworks were going off before, bombs were exploding now. Then something heavy hit Warren's back and we fell to the ground, arms, legs, leather, and…fur.

Neal.

"Geroff,ya dumm dfug." I heard Warren's muffled voice from above me and to the left.

"Neal. Come here, boy." I called, twisting under Warren to see where he was. Neal was laying across Warren's face.

The dog jumped up and bounced over to me.

"What are you doing, you silly dog?" I asked, scratching him behind his ears, waiting for Warren to move.

"What the hell did he do that for?" Warren asked in a grumpy voice, holding out a hand to help me up.

I smiled as he pulled me to my feet, "He probably had a little encouraging from the Boss Lady."

He grimaced, "You don't think she will tell Mr. Wayne, do you?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed in his face.

"What?" He growled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and frowning.

"Of all my 'fathers'," I started, including the quotes. "Bruce is probably the last one you need to worry about."

"What do you mean?" He asked in something that sounded near terrified. I just think it is so cute when the boys are scared of the daddies.

"To give you a little clue of what could happen…One runs fast enough to zip out to the middle of ocean and leave you there for the sharks…One could lift you up with a force field and throw you into outer space, or worse…One has the best bow shot, ever…You met J'onn…Then there is the fact that one could beat you to a pulp with one punch, freeze you with his breath, laser beam you with his eyes, and fly twenty miles above Earth and drop you. How's that for worse?" I told him, giving him a short summary of Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Superman. And that was only a few of them.

Warren went pale and fell onto the bed.

"Who the hell are your parents? The Justice League?" He asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Oh, you didn't know? Gosh, I figured having J'onn show up at the hospital would set it in stone who I was." Gee, I thought he could have figured it out by now. Maybe he was just too upset at the time to put two and two together and get five.

"Elle. Warren. Get down here or we'll be late for the bus." Layla called from downstairs.

"Oh my God!" Warren said slowly, staring at me in horror. Dude, it's just the Justice League.

"Come on, scaredy cat, I'll protect you from my big, bad daddies." I joked, smiling from ear to ear while pulling him down the stairs.

On the way to school, the whole gang took up the back three seats and Warren and I convinced them not to tell everyone in the school about us. And especially not to say anything about staying at Bruce's this weekend. Or about the ten villains that escaped the SuperMax.

We made it to lunch before I got a text from Gavin. Truthfully, I thought I would get one before then. Usually, he snoops faster.

The test said: **Call me, I got something. **

I practically ran to the bathroom and dived into the last stall after looking to make sure the room was empty.

I quickly dialed his number and waited for him to pick-up.

"I am so good." He informed me as soon as he answered the phone.

"Yeah? What did you do? Give Kate the biggest hicky ever recorded?" I joked. Though, she probably did have one the size of a softball.

"No…well, maybe…but that's not it. I have the names and superpower of all the guys that broke out." He told me excitedly.

"No shit! How?" My blood had started pumping faster. We might find something out now.

"I went though my dad's briefing papers this morning and made copies. I have ages and criminal history, too, but I don't think you would really need those. Do you?" He whispered. My guess was he was skipping out on his classes at the prep-school he goes to. Yeah, shocker, I know. He didn't really seem the prep-school type, did he?

I pulled out a notebook and pen, "It's okay, I just need the names and power for now."

"Right, here are the names. Barron Battle, that's smoking dude's dad. His power is fire mixed with stuff similar to brimstone and molten lava. Lisa Carvin, able to duplicate herself numerous times. Samuel Carvin, Sr., able to control inanimate objects. Talon McGarvin, he can control air currents so that they bend to his making. He can lift himself up like he is flying and create/ a wall of forced air. Laura Zellan, able to fly and has a Ph.D in nanotechnology. George Micheals, can control earth and rocks and stuff, like the Earthbenders on that Avatar show on Nickelodeon. Alexander Pike, can move though anything solid, but not water. There's a big word for it but I can't pronounce it. Maria Lench, able to magnify her senses, voice, hearing, all that. Then there is Derek Mason, he can induce pain telepathically. And last is Anna Shoals, she can morph into any big cat, even the extinct ones, like a saber tooth tiger. Did you get all of that?"

"Yeah. Do you think you could e-mail me all the other stuff later?" I requested, even though I knew he would probably forget.

"Uhhh, I give you give you one thing and you take complete advantage over me. But fine, whatever, I'll do it." Gavin complained jokingly, while I looked over the list of names and powers. If Sam Carvin had a mixture of both his parents powers, it was possible that he could have duplicated the blueprints and left the originals.

"Great! Do the reports have any of their kids names on them?" Thinking of Sam made me realize there might be more villains kids in the school. Wouldn't that be fun to deal with?

"No, that stuff is kept confidential as long as they are minors." He explained. I guess that makes sense, but a little inconvenient for me.

"Listen, Gavin, you don't know how much this helps, but I have to go." I explained, putting my notebook back in my bag and getting up from my spot on the floor by the window.

"I still say you are to much of a goody-goody to play hero. What use is the mighty heroine, if she is not willing to skip class for the sake of info?" He teased me, using my saying of 'playing hero.' I think he might have forgot the numerous situations we had gotten ourselves into since I had met him when I was five that put me out of the running for a 'goody-goody'.

"A smart one who will get in major trouble if caught by a teacher with her cell phone." I retorted. "I'll talk to you later. Love ya! Bye."

"Okay, see you." He bid and hung up.

I was practically doing a happy dance in the stall.

I knew something everyone else doesn't know!

But, then, just cause I had to tell someone, I ran to tell them as well.

When I skipped back into the cafeteria, everyone hit me with a look of questioning concern. Concerned because I was skipping though the school lunch room. Yeah, I know most normal people don't do that. Hey, what can I say, I was happy.

"Uh, let's go to the library. I have something to show you guys." I told them in a whisper, just in case someone was listening. They all nodded and followed me to the empty library, helping me check every shelf and row to make sure no one else was in there.

Once we were sure everything was clear, we gathered around the back table, which had a computer and was behind the very last row of books. It was just something about being the very back row that just made it seem more devious. Muwwhehehe. That was my evil laugh, not that what we were really doing was evil. Well, it was on the bad list after I sat down at that computer.

"What are you doing, Elle?" Layla asked, trying to see what I as doing over my shoulder.

"Get that blue notebook out of my bag and look on the first page of the second divider. It's a list of the names of the bad guys and their powers." I ordered, pounding away on the keys of the computer.

Zach reached the tablet first and began reading out loud. We had been smart enough to lock the doors so no one could walk in on us.

"Okay, here is it. Barron Battle. Hey, Warren, your dad is on her-OW!" Zach yelled when Magenta elbowed him in the ribs. Gotta love those elbows. I took a glance at Warren, who had closed his eyes and looked away. "Sorry. Anyway, Barron Battle: Fire/Brimstone. Lisa Carvin: Self-duplication. Sam Carvin, Sr.: Controls inanimate objects. Talon McGarvin: Manipulates air currents. Laura Zellan: Fly & Ph.D in nanotech. George Micheals: controls earth and rocks. Alexander Pike: Becomes intangible. Maria Lench: magnified senses. Derek Mason: induces pain telepathically. Anna Shoals: morph into any big cat, include extinct. Wow, that's a lot power."

"Yeah, that's why they are labeled as _super-_villains." Ethan told him, glancing at the computer screen in front of me. "Elle, are those the schools records?"

"Maybe." I said evasively. Hahaha, I'm so evil. I had learned how to hack into a locked server when I was ten.

"Elle! You can get into big trouble for that!" Layla screeched. What's new? If I get in trouble, it's usually of the BIG type.

"Only if I get caught." I told her, dismissing the idea The group gathered around me, staring intently at the computer screen. Names, birthdays, powers, parents, social security numbers, and all that other stuff schools have flew by. I requested the names of the parents and got six hits. The screen now read:

Samuel **Carvin** Jr. son of **Samuel Carvin** Sr. and** Lisa Carvin**; Power; Matter duplication

Teresa **Zellan** daughter of Darren **Zellan** and **Laura Zellan**; Power: Flight

Joseph **Micheals **son of **George Micheals **and Karen **Micheals**; Power: Controls Metals

Warren Peace son of **Baron Battle **and Natalie Peace; Power: Fire

_Why did I even put that one in there? I asked myself_

James **Shoals **son of Herold **Shoals **and** Anna Shoals**; Power: Morph into any member of the big cat family.

Theodore **Mason **son of **Derek Mason **and Tammy **Mason**; Power: Speed

"Zach write this stuff down on that notebook." I asked, turning to the group. Zach scribbled away while I spoke. "Okay, so, we know Carvin Number 2 is able to duplicate matter, that includes blueprints to the school. Then, the lock is of the highest range of technology. Teresa Zellan's mom has a Ph.D in nanotech, she probably knows how to disable an alarm and enable it again. Joseph Micheals could just move the cameras since they are made of metal." I told everybody. Light bulbs started going off over everyone's head.

"You mean…" Magenta started, "Oh, great."

"Yeah," I agreed. "So, what do we do next?

"They have a plan to do something to the school. Sooo…" Ethan stated, looking around for an idea.

"So, we have to stop them." Warren, who was leaning on a bookshelf with his arms crossed growled.

I nodded along with everyone else.

"Oh, dang it, this sounds like freshman year all over again." Will whined.

"Except now we know something is actually probably going to happen. Not just have a crazy super villainess pop up in the middle of the dance." Layla reminded us.

Yeah, the whole knowing it was coming thing was not so comforting when you knew it was ten super villains and some of their kids.

"Man, I just say we follow them around, then just see if WHAM something happens." Zach told the group, smacking his hands on the word WHAM.

Magenta rolled her eyes, about to say something against it.

"No, that's actually not a bad idea." I interrupted before she could say anything. "If we see something strange, like me and Layla did that day, we'll tell. But first, we have to go to the spy shop."

"Spy shop?" Will asked, clearly thinking you didn't need awesomely cool spy gear to follow people around.

"Duh, guys, we need to get cameras and stuff." Ethan explained to the slower members of our group.

So, we all took a little trip to Downtown to the spy shop.

"Oh, cool look at this guy….look, look, OWW, dang thing pinched me!" Zach exclaimed, clearly fascinated by a little fake cell phone.

"So, what are we looking for?" Will asked. I looked around the shelves at the products and saw Warren silently sitting on a chair in the middle of the square of shelves.

He had been extremely quiet since he saw his name on that screen. Looks like Elle screwed up again.

I guess he felt me staring and looked up. He smiled back when I smiled at him, but then it fell away again.

"Do you guys need some help?" A kid that defined the word 'nerd' asked us. His name tag said 'Andy'.

"Uh, yeah, do you have any miniature cameras? Ones that won't get noticed in a crowd of people?" I asked before anyone else could.

"Why sure we do!" He told me cheerfully, motioning for us to follow him to the back corner of the store. "Here you go."

He pointed to a shelf that had about twenty thousand different types of cameras. Seriously, there was even a pair of shoes that had a lens in the tongue's logo patch. Why you would need a tennis shoe camera was beyond me.

"Now, what are we looking for? A video or picture camera?" The clerk asked, looking like he was trying to be suave about asking me. It wasn't working.

"Umm, how about both. They just have to be small and inconspicuous." I requested, looking up a the enormous shelf and wondering how long this was going to take.

"Well, little lady, someone pretty as yourself needs something beautiful." He pulled down a small box. Opening it, he revealed a pair of clear crystal earrings and a matching bracelet. "There is a video camera in one and picture camera in the other. The two charms on the bracelet let you either turn on the video or take a picture. What do you say darling?"

I smiled at his antics, then inquired seriously "Do they come in blue?"

"Sure do, gorgeous." He told me, grabbing another box and opening it. Inside was a blue pair of earrings with blue stones on the charms on the bracelet.

"I'll take them." I told him. Then we went though, choosing what everyone else would have.

Layla got this hair clip that was shaped like a flower. Magenta got a nose ring. Zach, Will, and Ethan got watches in their on respective color schemes. Warren got a very manly tough guy necklace. It had a cross made of nails hung on a black leather strap. There were cameras hidden in all of them and each had their own triggers like the bracelet. They really were pretty interesting.

Even more interesting was Warren's reaction to the clerks comments. Let me tell you, it was Hilarious. Yeah, so funny it needed a capital H. He wasn't smoking at least. But there was literally fire in his eyes and I think if he had balled him hands into fist one more time, the vessels in his arms would have burst. Then there was the fact that he was emitting a sound that was pretty close to snarling. Hilarious.

The kid didn't even realize it either. Just kept right on talking sweet to me and was completely oblivious to the fact that if I were not standing between him and Warren, he would probably be black and blue and smoldering.

Warren kept his anger at bay until we got to the counter to check out. "So, are you sure that is all you want, darling."

I heard a growl from behind me and nodded, "I'm sure. I think it is time we should get going anyway."

"Well, darn." He grumbled, still in his cheery voice. Then in what I assumed was supposed to be a smooth, seductive voice, he asked, "So, how about a phone number?"

"Hell no." Truthfully, I would have expected the tone to come out of an angry alpha wolf. But it came out of Warren instead, in a low, deep, threatening growl.

Oh, crap.

"Hey, man, I was just asking the lady." Andy explained in a high-pitched, frightened voice. "I didn't know she was taken. Honest."

"Cool it, Hotshot." I told Warren, laying a hand on his arm. He didn't take his glaring eyes off the clerk. I was just praying his didn't punch the guy. "I don't exactly have 'I'm Taken' tattooed on my forehead."

Andy was busy cramming our stuff in a bag as fast as he possibly could. "Here y'all go. Come back anytime."

"Sure will." I told him, paying him the money and walking out, Warren's hand firmly in mine.

"I don't like the way he was talking to you." Warren growled grumpily. He was still on that?

"Don't worry about it," I reassured him, kissing his cheek. "I'm all yours."

He smiled and kissed me back.

I really like his kisses. You know that?

"Oh, no, they're going to be worse than Layla and Will." Ethan complained behind us. I turned and grinned at him.

"I don't think anyone could get that bad." I corrected him, pointing to the two. They were lost in each others eyes. "They're brain dead around each other."

"What did you say, Elle?" Layla asked distractedly, gazing at Will.

Everyone burst out laughing. "See what I mean."

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**A/N: I'm afraid this chapter might not have been as good as the last, but I really hop you guys like it. Review please!**


	11. Can't Miss It

**A/N: Hey, I know it took entirely to long, but I did have to sum it all up in this one chapter. That's right, sum it up. I just don't have time for this anymore. I'm sorry. So...the finale. **

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The next Friday, we were walking to Comic Comprehension when I heard a voice.

Yes, a voice.

But it wasn't inside my head.

Was I right? You were so thinking that weren't you? You were thinking Elle is just a few notes short of a full harmony.

No, this voice belonged to a man, and Warren nearly fell flat on his face as I sprang out from under his arm in excitement and dropped my books on the floor.

"Elle?" He called after me, bending over to scoop up my books. "Where are you going?"

I didn't answer. The others were calling after me too, but I didn't stop. I was too excited.

I rounded the corner and saw Principal Powers talking to two men in the hallway.

One was tall, shaggy blond, broad shoulders, slim waist, a full quiver of arrows on his back, and wearing a green tunic, Robin Hood hat, and…tights. Sorry, you have to laugh at a grown man in green tights.

The other was stouter, with a white cowboy hat, fringed leather 'cowboy' chaps, blue shirt, red kerchief over his face, and a pair of six shooters at his hips.

The whole hallway turned to see what had happened when I screamed in delight. Not that I was paying attention; I was already barreling toward the archer and cowboy.

"Well, there's the little lady." The cowboy laughed, catching me in his arms as I flung myself at him.

"Vigilante!" I greeted breathlessly before turning and attacking my next victim with a hug. "Green Arrow What are you guys doing here?"

The archer smiled, hugging me back with one arm and tousling my hair with the other, "Well, it wouldn't be to see you, Duchess, seeing as you have chosen to ignore anything that has to do with the people who cared for you, raised you, tended to you when you were ill, put Band-Aids on your boo-boo's-"

"I get it. I was a jerk." I stopped him before the whole school heard some crazy story from my childhood. "Not like you would miss me. You were probably so busy with Black Canary that you never knew I was gone."

Green Arrow smirked and turned to his partner, "Seems we taught her well. Very below-the-belt comeback," He approved.

"I would say so." Vigilante agreed, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously though, why are you here?" I asked again, noticing my friends turn the corner.

"We were asked to give a presentation to the Hero Support about advancing to Hero status without actually having superpowers." Vigilante supplied, as Green Arrow was glaring at my friends, who were clustered near the lockers waiting for me to introduce them. Namely, he was just glaring at Warren.

Seems Bruce can't keep his mouth shut.

"Just a quick trigger finger, right?" I smirked, knowing he had gotten to be a 'super'hero on just that. Catching a glimpse of Green Arrows scowl again, I decided to intervene before he stepped up and did something about the situation himself. He was a little famous for it. "Principal Powers, what were you saying?"

The two men had apparently forgotten she was there after my sudden arrival.

"Nothing at all, dear. I was actually just fixing to send them on their way." She told me. Not so helpful. But still a distraction. She bid the two men goodbye and asked me to show them to the gym, where the sidekicks were going to meet them during the next two periods.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Duchess?" Green Arrow asked, eyeing the group, an edge on his voice. Crap. Warren's expression looked a little out of place compared to the rest of his tough guy, bad ass look. It was unsure, shaky, and his eyes were wide in something that was near fear.

"Um, yeah." I agreed, hoping this would be better than the Warren/Bruce conversation. I looked at Warren again and smiled. He was practically sweating bullets under the scrutinizing glare of my 'brothers'.

Vigilante leaned toward me and whispered, "Which one is the guy Bruce was talking about?"

Why are all the men in my life so freaking over-protective? Seriously, was it some kind of hardware update that came with me that made them be lik

I rolled my eyes and whispered back, "The tall one in the leather jacket and dark hair."

Green Arrow looked at me sharply and whispered in a low, indignant voice, "Bruce didn't say that he had tattoos."

My grin stretched ear-to-ear. Gotta love the bad boys and their lovely tattoos that just looks so terrible to adults.

"Yes, _Warren _has tattoos. They match his power and I like them." I informed him as a discontented grimace set on his face. "And stop talking in whispers. It's rude."

Green Arrow gave me a smirk, "I taught you manners, remember?"

"Which is why I am terribly offensive most of the time." I reminded him with a teasing smile. "Now, go say 'Hi" before they wet their pants with anticipation."

"Don't all their parents have superpowers?" The cowboy asked as he flanked my left side while Green Arrow drifted to my right.

"Yes, but you are in the Justice League. It's a little major." I clued him in in a whisper.

"Oh, I see." He replied in a knowing voice that told me he totally didn't get it. I mean, what's the big deal with biggest league of superheroes around, right?

I was right. Anticipation City.

"Guys, this is Green Arrow and Vigilante, my adoptive big brothers." I told them.

That's when they were practically jumped by my enthusiastic friends.

"Hi, I'm Ethan. You two are really great. Amazing even. I heard about that time in Centerville where you totally creamed that bad guy. It was so cool. Wow, Green Arrow and Vigilante." The boy greeted in a single breathe. Gosh, he was making me lightheaded, just from listening to him.

"Yeah, you guys are so awesome. Like, really cool. So good to meet you." Zach said, vigorously shaking their hands.

The two men looked at one another with befuddled expressions, then at me, clearly taken aback by the welcome. I smiled encouragingly and nodded toward the rest of the pack.

"Hello," Magenta said as she shook their hand with an I-could-care-less air. "Magenta."

"Pleasure to meet you." Green Arrow replied. Maybe he had some manners in him yet. He shook Will's hand, asked after his father and moved onto Layla.

"Hi." Her voice was spilling over with awe, eyes wide, mouth open, completely dumbfounded by their presence.

Oh, great.

We have a deer-in-headlights situation here, people. Prepare for evasive action.

Green Arrow flashed her a dashing smile and shook her hand, then moved aside as Vigilante did the same.

Then we got to Warren.

"You are her boyfriend?" Green Arrow asked acidly.

"Yes, sir." Warren responded in a calm voice, despite the fact that he looked like he was about to make a break for it. Props to the guy who can remain a little calm with two older brothers staring you down.

"See, Green Arrow, a man with manners." I pointed out, trying to make light of the situation. Yeah, fruitless effort, I know, but I was hoping to get points for trying.

I noticed Vigilante looking hard at Warren and, before I could stop him, the inevitable question came, "Who are your parents?"

"Vigilante!" I cried, stepping toward Warren and slipping my hand in his. He knew exactly who his parents were. The whole frigging world knew.

Warren raised a hand to hush me, "It's okay, Elle. My mother is Rose Peace."

Green Arrow raised an eyebrow, knowing there was more to the story, "And?"

"And…my father is Barron Battle." Warren sighed, the hard muscle in his jaw tightening when he saw the looks my brothers were giving him.

"Indeed?" Green Arrow pondered. "Didn't he recently escape from prison?"

"Yes." Warren replied, trying to control his voice.

"Have you heard from him?"

Warren hesitated and then answered, "Yes."

Surprise shown on the two men's faces.

"He called my phone the day he tried to kill my mother." Warren told them, wanting to stop the line of thought that was blasting though their heads.

"Oh, we're sorry to hear." Vigilante apologized, clearly ashamed- as they rightly should have been- that they had been thinking what they had. "She is the one J'onn went after then?"

I nodded, gears winding in my head as I thought of a way to just make them shut up. "Why don't I show you two to the gym before it is to late. It's right out those double doors, you can't miss it-big building, couldn't miss it for the world."

"Sounds good." Green Arrow agreed. Starting toward the gym. "And you, Duchess, need to get to class."

Layla was in fits over the two the rest of the day. Seriously, if I were Will, I would have been a little hurt. Cause she wouldn't shut up about them. It was Vigilante this…And Green Arrow that…And Blah Bluh Blah Bluh Blah.

So I wasn't really surprised when they were invited over for dinner. In fact, Layla was planning a whole damn banquet for them. We were all invited to come of course. Then again, I was a little bit obligated to go seeing as I lived in her house.

Green Arrow and Vigilante looked only a little awkward standing in normal clothes at Layla's front door. Well, Green Arrow didn't, I had seen him in street clothes before, but not Vigilante. I almost laughed in his face when I opened the door. Namely because I rarely saw it. He always had that handkerchief on. But I didn't, I was on my best behavior; I was trying to prove to Green Arrow that I had manners. We had had another fight about that when my brothers sat with me at lunch.

Talk about embarrassing.

What girl wants her two brothers sitting with her at lunch when they are in full hero garb?

…(Crickets chirp in silence)

…(More crickets chirp in silence)

Exactly.

I led the pair to the dining room where everyone was crowded around the table like it was Christmas on one of those movies or something.

I was stuck between Warren, who I totally didn't mind sitting by, and Green Arrow, who was very unnervingly sneaking looks at us though his peripheral vision, making sure we weren't making-out or something.

Like we would do that at the table. Well...on this occasion at least.

Kidding. We are not that bad.

We were holding hands under the table though, his warm hand resting on my knee, my fingers intertwined with his. Scandalous, I know.

Take that! I wanted to say to my brother. But that would reveal that we were holding hand and things would end pretty quick after that.

Dinner went smoothly, no sudden uproars about my manners or my holding hands with my boyfriend. Because, you know, that is a totally uproar worthy crime.

"This dinner is lovely, Layla." Ollie told her. Ollie is Green Arrow's nickname. It's short for Oliver Queen, which is his alias.

Layla blushed crimson, made deeper by the contrast of her hair to the color, and thanked him, making everyone but Will laugh. Yeah, Will was not enjoying this little shindig in the least.

We were just finishing dinner when the Justice League communicator went off on my brothers belts.

"Looks like we have to go. Duty calls." Green Arrow said with a wry smile, rising from his seat and telling everyone farewell, pausing as Vigilante did the same in his deep southern accent.

I walked with Green Arrow and Vigilante to their car and the prison break-out was brought up.

"Elle, you need to be careful around that boy of yours." Vigilante told me, giving me a good-bye hug. "He may seem all nice and fine now, but you don't know what he will do if faced with family matters like that."

I glared at my brother, "He will fight. I already know."

"I was just warning you." He said in his own defense. "Have you heard anything around your school about the escapees kids."

"I hacked into the school server and got their names." I informed them, grinned at their disproving looks. "We all have hidden cameras that we take pictures and have been following them around. Nothing has happened yet."

"Bruce knew that this would happen." Ollie said disapprovingly Vigilante, shaking his head. "She is too damn nosey."

"Well, someone has to do it and my and Layla already caught them stealing the school plans, but the Principal wouldn't listen and said we needed proof. One of the boys is a duplicator, you see; he could just copy them. He gave them to some guy in the gym who was standing in the shadows so that we couldn't see who he was." I told them angrily. Would they just trust me for once? This was going to be my profession after all. It came with the merchandise. Ice blasting out of your hands equals sometimes snooping to catch the bad guy. See the mathematics of the situation?

The two men were looking at me intently.

"You saw this man?" Green Arrow asked, brow furrowed.

"Sort of, he was standing under the bleachers so that we couldn't see him." I told him, shifting under his gaze.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Vigilante asked, looking annoyed.

"I didn't know about the break-out at the time and then Principal Powers said we couldn't do anything without proof. So…" I shrugged, looking from one to the other. They had that faraway, analyzing the situation look on.

"We have to get back to the Watchtower," Green Arrow said gravely after a time. "You and your friends just keep your eyes open. Something big is about to happen. We may need some inside people at Sky High pretty soon. Tell Layla, 'thank you' for dinner, again."

"And Elle," Vigilante said, climbing into the passenger's side of the car. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" I asked innocently.

Vigilante gave me that 'yeah...right' look, then got in the car and sped off down the road.

I was still standing their when I felt a wave of heat come up behind me. Without turning I said, "You handled that situations far better than the last one. You weren't ghost white at least."

"You face Bruce Wayne and not freak-out when he is threatening you and let's see how you hold up. They were cooler. They didn't threaten to kill me at least." Warren said, snaking an arm around my waist, and nuzzling my ear. "You smell nice."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Oh, really?"

"Yep," He replied, smirking and pulling me closer. I was going weak in the knees just from the look in his eyes. Seriously, I was drowning in those smoldering black pools.

"Sorry about Vigilante. He was just playing the brother card." I said when the scene from earlier sprang into my thoughts. Warren stopped lowering his face to mine midway down and looked fixedly at me.

"It's okay. I was half expecting it." He brushed it off. Down playing it to make me feel better probably. "Why do you call them your brothers and not Bruce."

I never realized I did that.

Did you notice?

Hmm…

"I guess it is because they are like brothers to me and Bruce is more." I tried to explain. Like I said before, it was kind of complicated. "He was my first guardian when the Justice League adopted me. He was there for me when no one else was. He is like a brother, but more than that. He is my best friend. Is that a good enough explanation?"

Warren nodded and continued to lean toward me until his lips were on mine. Fire seemed to shoot though my mouth; Like flames were licking my lips and traveling to my lungs. It made me melt into him even more. After a while, we came up for air, both breathing hard.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love kissing you?" He asked in a husky voice, so deep and warm that it made shivers travel down my spine.

"I seemed to have notice you liked to." I answered with a smirk, staring up into his eyes again, absorbing the warmth that radiated off him.

"I do." He confirmed seriously, running the tip of his nose down the bridge of mine, giving me an Eskimo kiss before planting his lips on mine again. "I have to work tomorrow night."

"Well, that sucks." I grumbled. I like my Saturday nights. They were usually spent in my very hot (in both ways) boyfriend's arms, either curled there going to sleep, making out, or just talking. On Saturdays, the Paper Lantern was my worst nemesis. "What time do you get off?"

"Seven." He replied, kissing my cheek, then my jaw, then the soft skin of my neck, making me shiver and hold onto him tighter.

"Oh, you can still come over then?" I questioned, tilting my head back so that he had more room to continue with his luxurious kisses. Which I was totally enjoying by the way.

"Sure." He murmured against my skin so that his lips brushed my neck quickly, then continued, pushing my silvery hair out of the way, with his line of kisses.

"Warren? Elle? Where are you two?" I heard a voice call from the house.

Warren growled aggressively against my neck and planted a final kiss before pushing himself away from me.

"Just one freaking moment!" He said in a low growl that made it very clear that he was irritated.

I laughed out loud, causing him to look at me strangely.

"You don't know how many times I have said the same thing." I told him though another bought of laughter. He joined in with his deep chortle and we walked to the house.

"Warren, you mother called for you." Mrs. Williams called from the kitchen. That woman was always in there.

Warren pecked my cheek, "I'll go call her back. Be back in a little bit."

Layla was still fawning over my brothers when I got into the living room.

"Elle, they are just so dreamy." She told me.

No one really want to hear that about their brothers.

It's kind of weird.

Really, it is.

"Whatever you say." I speculated, falling onto the couch and looking to the TV to see what this week's movie was.

Fox and the Hound.

I absolutely HATE the movie.

I spent the first thirty minutes alone however; Warren was still talking to his mother.

She was still in the ICU at Gotham Memorial. J'onn had done what he could, but some wounds just took time, and hers were taking quite a while. Then again, I had a feeling that J'onn might be keeping her there because of the dangers of being out and about at the moment. You know, homicidal ex-husband and all.

When Warren came back, he was smiling. Something that was rare after a conversation with his mother.

"What did she say?" I asked. Must have been something pretty good for him to be acting like that.

"She said that, if she kept healing at the rate she was, arrangements have been made for her to stay with the Stronghold's until the house repair have been finished. She might be coming home in two weeks." He told me, smiling. I love his smiles. They dazzle me. Seriously, dazzle. It's like hypnotism or something. A flash of that slow smile and I am awestruck. Dead serious.

"That's great." I exclaimed, trying to shake off the dazzled feeling so that my brain would clear enough for coherent speech.

"I know." He said, excited. "What are we watching?"

"Fox and the Hound." I grumbled. I HATE Fox and the Hound.

"Why do you say it like that?" He asked, perplexed by my sudden mood change.

"I HATE this movie." I complained.

"Does it make you cry?" He guessed, kissing my cheek with his rough, burning lips.

"Yes." I confessed, leaning against his hard, muscular shoulder, reveling in the warmth and softness of him.

"Then I like it." He told me, his lips caressing my hair.

"You have never seen me cry." I fired back. "So how would you know that you liked it when I do."

"I know, but it gives me another reason to hold you." He admitted, resting his head atop mine.

"You could hold me any time you want." I reminded him.

"I know" Was all he said, wrapping his arms around me so that I was pulled tight to him.

I was right.

I did cry.

Warren held me snugly in his arms and used a rough, callused thumb to brush away my tears.

Talk about and AWW moment.

"I still hate this movie." I said when it was over. Everyone else was asleep.

How can you fall asleep this early on a Friday night?

My friends are so weird.

"I like it." Warren whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

"You're weird." I told him, getting up to put on another movie. I popped in Ocean's Eleven. The whole multi-man job plot reminded me of what Green Arrow had said. "Ollie said that he thought something big was about to happen."

"That's not surprising. We thought the same thing. Now, didn't we?" Warren asked me as I sat back down in his lap.

"Yeah, whatever." I said flippantly brushing the matter off, bringing my lips down hard on Warren's.

It didn't take long for Green Arrow's prediction to come true. One week and four days if you want to get technical about it.

Actually, we weren't the only ones who found it either. They whole school did.

That tends to happen when a building as large as the gym blows up.

Yeah…the gym. No kidding.

Like I said before, you couldn't miss it. And it was GONE. A big pile of smoke and debris was all that was left.

Of course, had it not been for our handy-dandy cameras, we wouldn't have caught the important part.

Which would be Sam Carvin and Teresa Zellan running out from behind the gym.

The detonator-type object in Teresa's hand made me think that they weren't exactly back there playing a game of tonsil-hockey.

Anyway, while the teachers preoccupied themselves with getting everyone into the school. Which was really stupid if you ask me because where the hell did they think the next bomb would hit? The Greenhouse? Yeah, cause you know them big ole baddies have to add Horticulture Homicide to their list before they die.

Hehe, it's probably on their 'Bucket List'

1. Take over the world.

2. Make myself leader of the world.

3. KILL THE PLANTS!

Sorry. I was amusing myself a bit. Back to the story.

It was Warren who followed them. After a small quarrel with me about how I should not go.

Seriously, it's really nice to have a boyfriend, but there are times, like this, when the guys just need to realize that we little girls aren't made of glass and…SURPRISE!…own brains.

Anyway, he slinked off after them, ordering the rest of us off to the library. Like that was going to happen.

However, the moment I managed to slip away, I was pulled back again by an incredibly strong hand. Will.

Why do they always have to have the loyal best friend who has to stop you?

"Will, dear," I started sweetly, then darkened my tone, "Let go."

"Warren will kill me if he finds out I let you go after them." He argued, not letting go of my arm.

Chivalry sucks.

I glanced at Layla over his shoulder and looked pointedly from her to Will. She nodded and put a hand on Will's shoulder. He turned and found a pair of lips on his.

That's one way to do it I guess.

He let go of my arm at least.

And I was off, drifting in the direction Warren had gone. I found him in a deserted hallway on the far side of the school.

The two had entered an empty classroom.

Which would so _not _be suspicious if a teacher found them.

Idiots.

Warren had his ear pressed to the door, trying to hear. I had to smile at his deficient attempt at spying. The doors were soundproofed.

"You'll never hear anything that way." I whispered in his ear, finding it very amusing when he jumped about ten feet high at the sound of my voice. Element of Surprise, never leave home without it.

When he realized who it was, however, his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here. I told you to stay with the others."

I smirked, moving over to the wall and inspecting the vent that was near floor, "And you knew good and well that I would not listen."

"You should have," He growled, "It's too dangerous. Did you not just see what happened to the gym?"

"Who didn't?" I asked sardonically, reeling back my right hand and punching in the vent, entering the narrow pass.

I got halfway down and looked back at Warren who was staring into the shaft.

"Quit looking at my butt and get in here." I whispered so that the two on the other side of the vent that was in the room wouldn't hear.

"I wasn't lo-"

"Don't lie. I know I have a nice butt, it's just not the time to look at it." I stopped him, smiling as his face turned red, from anger or being caught, I couldn't really tell.

He grumbled something under his breathe as he made his way into the chute.

We could hear Sam and Teresa clearly as we gathered around the vent screen.

"I think dad and mom might be a little pleased with that." Sam chortled.

Teresa laughed evilly with him, "I guess they can just take that as a pre-show to the big finale Then, we will all be rich with ransom money for all the kids we hold hostage when we capture the school. I love having super villain parents."

"We need to get the others together to work on terminating that little hero circle. They will be working on finding out what happened." Sam advised.

If only he knew.

"True. To bad Peace didn't join us, he would have saved himself a lot of trouble. I guess that is what he gets for hanging out with the wrong crowd. Hehehe, his dear ole dad will take care of that. And that little ice bitch. Uhh. I am so tired of her. I'll call mom later and see what we can come up with. Everyone else is in the cafeteria with the others?" She asked.

"Yeah, they didn't want to make it look suspicious that all of the super villain's kids were gone. They are saving us seats." Sam told her.

"Good, let's go before they see that we aren't there." Teresa suggested, walking out the door, leaving the two of us sitting in the ventilation shaft.

I turned to Warren, eyes wide in horror.

"He's going to kill you."

"Forget me," Warren parried. "They're going to take over the school."

* * *

**APRIL FOOL'S! Just kidding guys, this is definatly not the last chapter, I still have a lot more to go. **

* * *

**A/N: Well, did I have anyone fooled? Review and tell me cause it would seriously make my day if I did. This is my longest chapter yet, so tell me what you think. Thanks for reading. **


	12. Plans and Stories

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Enjoy!**

Shit! They were going to blow up the school! After they held us all captive inside! And they wanted me and all my friends DEAD! Yes, it was worth capitalizing! And exclaimational pointing!!

Then, just to top of my suddenly very bad day, Warren's father was out for blood.

Warren's blood.

The blood I happened to like to stay running to my boyfriend's veins if at all possible.

Yeah, I was having a wonderful day, just a great, wonderful damn day.

"Let me get this straight, they want to hold us ransom, blow up the school, then kill the seven of us because we are nosy? Oh, my gosh..." Layla said, overveiwing all the stuff Warren and I had relayed. We were sitting in Will's room eating some sandwiches Mrs. Stronghold had made for us. It seemed that after a little while, the administration realized-_hey, they are not going to target the greenhouse next, but the school...where we have everyone sitting, let's get them out of here._

"Yeah, pretty much." Warren confirmed though a mouthful of ham sandwich. And here I bragged about his manners to Ollie.

"So...what now?" Ethan asked slowly, looking from one person to the next. Everyone shrugged and gave him a defeated look. "Come on, guys. We have to do something. We're heroes, it's what we were born to do."

"Well, being the idiots that we are, we forgot to record what they were saying...the worst thing that can happen to them is expulsion from the school, and we know they can work around that." I grumbled, popping a chip into my mouth.

"Right. So, we are going to have to turn that picture in, not that it would do much; they can argue that they were simply running away from an exploding building-most people would." Magenta drawled, stretching across the floor for the bag of chips. "So, that kinda rules that out, doesn't it?"

"Pretty much." I agreed sadly. It would be so easy if they would just believe us. Silence took over the room as we stared at each other, thinking. "What if...no."

"Go on." Will pushed, hoping maybe someone would come up with something.

"You're going to hate this." I told them, frowning. "What if...what if to do the right thing, we have to become the villain ourselves?"

Zach's face scrunched up in confusion, "I don't understand."

I took a deep breath and began, "We have to stop the students from coming back to the school at all costs. What if we did something to the school that makes it impossible for them to comeback? Just for a little while of course. Until the guys are caught."

"You're right." Will said moodily. "I hate it."

"I don't want to do it." I said in my defense. "It's just something that has to be done."

"I know. That is what I hate the most." He said with a sigh. "When are we going to do it and what are we going to do?"

"Hadn't exactly got that far yet." I admitted ruefully.

"We don't want to harm the school do we?" Zach asked.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, that was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"So, what if we could figure out how to override the computer system and have to school stop anyone from entering. They may think it was just a bug or glitch. "He told us, his brow scrunching as he thought out the plan.

"Zach," I said in awe. "You're a genius! That's perfect."

"Yeah, I know." He said, acting all big and bad. Then he feigned confusion "So what did I say?"

I laughed, hoping he was joking.

"So, does anyone know how to do that?" Layla asked.

"Umm, I know how to rewrite a program and changed some stuff in it. I can make a disk that will just write over a certain part of the software. Unfortunately, I have no hacking skills." Ethan told everyone.

"Hey, you are looking at the girl who got into the Justice League mainframe and drew little mustaches on all the profile pictures." Yeah, I did that. I know, classic, right? "Plus, I have already got into the schools records. This shouldn't be too hard."

"Great, so when does it go down and how do we reverse what we do in there?" Will asked, covering an aspect that we hadn't really thought of.

"Good question. Ethan, can you do something so that we can control what happens from outside the school. That way, we have the ability to take away the lock when the baddies are captured?" I asked.

"Sure, it will just mean us being up there a little while longer." He shrugged.

"Great. So, when are we doing it?" Magenta asked.

"I don't know. Warren," I said, turning to my unusually quiet boyfriend and asking, "When does your mom come home."

A smile broke out on his face, "Saturday."

"Right." I remembered. "Ethan, would Friday be enough time for you to get the stuff together that you would need?"

"Plenty." He confirmed.

"In the meantime, why don't we go to Magic Mountain and ride roller coasters, you know, so we don't look like we are planning anything." Will suggested, a sneaky smile on his face.

"That, and you just want to ride the rides." Magenta said, catching him red-handed.

"Well, it is convenient that it is a good cover." He grinned, sneaking a chip from Layla's plate.

"Right, Layla, we better get home before your mom sends over the search team." I said, getting up and walking to the door. Everyone else mumbled similar things about their parents and descended the stairs with us.

"Hey, can I come with you?" Warren asked, a slight plea in his eyes.

"Of course."

We walked, Layla, Will, Warren, and me, though the drizzling skies to our house. It was starting to finally feel like home to me now.

Upon entering, we were pounded with questions and had very little answers. Ones we were willing to give at least. Then, when Mrs. Williams back was turned, Layla and I, with our boyfriends, broke for our own respective sanctuaries. I pulled Warren onto the back porch, looking out at the rain.

"You're quiet today." I observed, sitting down on the swing and pulling my knees to my chest.

"You heard what they said." He growled, planting himself on the ground against the wall. So obviously, something was bothering him.

"Yeah, and..." I didn't mean to sound rude, I knew where he was coming from.

"I don't know." He sighed, running a hand though his hair in frustration.

We sat there for awhile, looking out at the grey toned yard. I loved the rain today. It was distracting and peaceful. But the events of today kept popping in my mind. I still wished we could just turn in the evidence, but I understood why we couldn't. I remembered what Warren had said that night at Bruce's.

__

"I tell you...and you die."

The words had confused me then, but now, their full impact was all to clear. He had said it to protect me from his father. He was afraid that I would run and tell Bruce and then Baron Battle would target me. The situation had turned. Now it involved all of us. We tell...and we die.

Tired of thinking about the topic, I willed myself to be lost in the rain, putting my thought into each droplet as it fell, crashing to the ground. So, there we both sat, silent as stone.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Warren broke the silence.

"When I was eight, my dad tried to take over the world. Destroy it, actually." I already knew this-Clark had wrote a story on it, remember-but I let him keep talking. "But, Will's dad stopped him."

He paused and I began to think that he had rethought telling me. But, then he continued, "For years, I put the blame of all the stuff that had happened to me on Will and his family. Until last year, when Will and me worked things out. That was when I was faced with the idea that it was not Will or his dad's fault. It was my dad's. It was something that I knew all along, but just never wanted to admit. He's my father, you know? I had this image of him that stood so high. When that fell away, all I could think about was getting even with him. And I will."

"Don't say that." I frowned a memory from long ago coming back.

"Oh, but I will." He responded, eyes flashing wildly. "He will come after me, and when he does-"

Something inside of me snapped.

"Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Stop saying how you want him to come after you."

Warren just stared at me from his spot on the floor, jaw hanging open and eyes wide.

"Because you don't! You don't know how terrible it is. You don't. So stop wanting it to happen. Because, if it does happen, it will haunt you the rest of your life." I had worked myself into a full-fledged fury, eyes glaring and hands shaking. Warren met my gaze and then quickly looked away.

"Why does it matter?" He grumbled, picking at speck on the wood. I glared at him. He was trying to be nonchalant about it. Trying to seem like he couldn't care less with on arm draped over a half-drawn knee, the other leg stretching out in front of him, but the fact that he wouldn't look at me told me he was either angry or hurt. Probably a little of both seeing as I had just blown up at him for no reason apparent to him. When I didn't say anything, he glanced toward me, "Well?"

I sank back. I hadn't thought about explanations when I started talking, things had just started spilling out. I had never told anyone. I hadn't even hinted or showed how fearful I was the night Warren saved me from that guy with the knife. I had slipped a little when we were at Bruce's, but Warren had gotten distracted and forgot about it. Now, I had no choice but to tell him.

The thunder rolled in the sky, like it was trying to coax me into speaking. I stared out at the grey rain and heard my voice quiver when I spoke barley a whisper, traveling back to a night ore than thirteen years ago, "It was night, and it was raining.

I could hear sirens and screams and then, a huge shape came toward me...and fell. I didn't know what had happened at first. Just that people were everywhere. And then, a black mask came into view. It was Batman, the Dark Knight. Apparently, I had created an ice patch and a criminal running though the alley to escape had slipped on it and fell. The police and Batman had been following him. I was only three at the time and sitting right smack-dab in the middle of Crime Alley. Bruce took me to his house and tracked down my parents. They had thought that I was dead. Imagine their surprise when they found out they hadn't done a very good job of getting rid of me. See, my parents were part of Gotham's social elite and would have done anything to stay there. And did. Just after my third birthday, I started to develop my powers, and it didn't take them long before they realized what my secret could do to their social status and decided to get rid of me. That's why everyone calls me Duchess. You know the story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, how everyone thought she was dead, then rumors came that she might still be alive. Bruce wanted to, but couldn't take me in after that, the media would have a field day about a child at that point in his life, so he made a couple of phone calls and Clark said his parents would take me in. I loved living with them on the farm and I got to come to Gotham to visit Bruce all of the time. Once a month, he would take me to the Watchtower to see everybody."

I heard Warren's clothes rustle as he moved from his spot to sit closer to me. I didn't look at him for fear that I would lose the nerve to keep speaking.

"It was on one of those trips to Gotham when I was ten that he found me. We were meeting Bruce at a restaurant for lunch. Mr. and Mrs. Kent stopped for a second to look at something and someone grabbed me from behind and ran with me. I didn't know where we were going, or, at first, who it was. Then he spoke. It was my father. He was telling me it was all my fault, all my fault that my mother had wasted away after I was gone. When he finally let me look around, I realized we were back in Crime Alley. The whole time I was think, Bruce will be here any minute. Any minute he would show up and save me. But, slowly, half an hour ticked by, leaving me with a broken arm, many broken ribs, and way to many bruises. That's when I stopped praying for Bruce to come and started praying for death instead. A ten-year-old should never have to think about death." I whispered harshly, trying to keep hold of my emotions. I was trying not to go into hysterics and an angry rampage at the same time. I felt Warren rise and sit next to me on the swing, aww, he was trying to be sweet. Too bad I was a little mad as him. "He pulled out a knife and pinned me to the ground, trying to cut out my heart. The sky burst open and rain came pouring down. Something jerked him off of me, causing the knife to slash my stomach. I was already weak, and the loss of blood made me feint, but before I passed out, I saw Batman holding my father over his head with a fist, fire in his eyes. You remember that night Downtown that you saved me?"

"Yeah," He said gruffly, looking at the ground.

"You looked so much like Bruce right then that it scared the crap out of me. And I was so afraid you would take it farther than he did. He nearly killed him, and he beat himself up over it for years." I told him. "The newspaper took a picture and plastered it on the front page. It was of Bruce, as Batman of course, carrying me away from the scene. You could see the tears spilling out of his mask and how beaten up I was, but what stuck out the most was the scene behind us. Six cops were trying to hold back my father back. He was stretching toward us with claw-like hands and his eyes had this wild look in them. After that, Bruce wasn't going to let me out of his sight, so I came to live with him, Al, and Dick and you pretty much know the rest."

I stopped, not really sure if Warren understood or not the message I was trying to get across. It wasn't that I didn't doubt that he couldn't handle his father. Hell, I am pretty damn sure he had enough pent up rage to off him with one burst of flame. It was that I didn't want what happened to me, to happen to him.

"You sure have this thing about people coming after you with knives." Warren murmured, just to break the silent tension that had grown between us.

"No kidding." I laughed sarcastically.

"I understand now, by the way." He told me, leaning back in the swing and stretching his arms across the back. I slid into the crook of his arm and sighed when his strong arm came around my shoulders. I love being in Warren's arm. They are just so nice and warm and strong.

"Good." I said triumphantly.

Dude, I had so just won this one.

Point 1 for Elle.

"But, I can't promise what I will do if he tries to come after me." He continued.

Alright, forget that point.

He held a hand up when I opened my mouth to speak. "But, let's not talk about it right now. For all we know, it will never happen."

"Fine." I grumbled. "But you know where I stand."

We settled into a comfortable silence, watching the rain.

Then he poked me.

I don't like to be poked.

At first, he tried to look innocent, but I could see that smirk at the corner of his mouth.

So, I poked back.

To which, not surprisingly, he retaliated.

He poked back again.

Is it just me, or do I remember this mixed with a little pancake batter? Yeah, I believe I do. And if I remember correctly, _Warren_ is the one who dumped to the mix on _me_. I believe that a little revenge is in order here.

Hmm...I do have these really cool superpowers.

And it _is _raining.

What to-SNOW!

Hehehe...I am evil.

Now, how to distract him.

Ah! Kisses. He tried to poke me and I planted my lips on his. Sure that he was perfectly distracted (he was busily kissing me, tongue roaming, and face relaxed into a blissful expression) I began to freeze the rain and piled the fake snow behind me on the swing. I had a good sized pile when I scooped up a handful and SPLAT! planted it right in his face.

He just sat there for a second. Completely shocked, mouth hanging open, and the snow dripping down his face. He blinked a few times and slowly wiped off the snow. Only to have me push more in his face. Hehe...this was so much fun.

He recovered and I reached back for more snow...UH-OH

No more snow.

Warren saw the expression on my face and grinned evilly.

Oh, crap.

I bolted from the swing, into the rain.

"Oh, no you don't." He laughed, reaching for me and missing then chasing me around the yard.

He got me stuck on one side of the birdbath. When I dodged one way, he dodged the other and went the other way and I ran for the porch.

I was six steps away.

Five steps.

Four.

Three.

Two-AHHH. Warren's strong arms wrapped around my stomach and pulled me back toward him.

"Don't think you are getting away from me." He told me, turning me so that my chest was flush against his. "I'm never letting you go."

"Good." I smiled, snaking my arms around his neck and kissing him soundly on the lips. Then he started tickling me. "Hey!"

"Payback." Warren smirked as I squirmed.

"No, I was paying you back to the pancake mix on Halloween." I corrected, capturing his hands in mine and putting them back on my hips.

"That was payback for the payback then." He said pulling me to him, stooping to kiss me again.

"Hey, you can't do that!" I argued before he could reach me, crossing my arm, and leaning back against Warren's strong hold.

"Who says?" Warren asked.

"I says." I declared, letting him kiss me again.

"Elle?" I heard Mrs. Williams call from the house. "Bruce is on the phone for you."

Why? Anytime I have five seconds with my boyfriend, it never fails that we will be interrupted. Never.

Warren let go of my waist and intertwined his fingers with my and we walked back in the house.

"Freeze!" Mrs. Williams shouted, coming to the door and poking a broom at us. "You two dry off or you won't step a foot inside this house."

I smiled at Mrs. Williams reactions, she is so funny to watch. So overdramatic all of the time without meaning to be. It's hilarious.

I felt the air heat up as Warren evaporated the water in his clothes and hair as I pulled the water from myself with my power and tossed it in the yard.

"Okay, now you can go." She said, reverently sweeping the floor.

I ran to answer the phone, "Hello?"

"Don't even think you are going to do something about the school." Damn. He knows me to well doesn't he?

"Well, thanks for all that trust and stuff." I retorted sarcastically.

"Elle," I could tell he was fighting to keep his cool.

"Don't worry. I haven't planned anything." I was telling the truth. _I _didn't plan the whole thing. _We _planned the whole thing. So, I might have painted over the truth a bit. A big bit.

After a while, I convinced him there was nothing up my sleeves and said good-bye.

"So, why does every time something big happens, they automatically think you are either in trouble or are fixing to make some?" Warren asked speculatively from where he was leaning on the doorway to the living room, filling the space with his muscled bulk.

"I don't know." I said, acting as if I was angry at them. "It's not like I have ever done anything in the past to make them think that I am going to do anything horrible like that."

"Oh, you haven't?" He asked in a disbelieving voice, laughing.

"No." I answered in an injured tone. Warren lifted an eyebrow. "Well, maybe a few things."

"Just a few." He agreed with grin.

All I could offer him of a guilty shrug, trying to hide my own smile.

'Few' was stretching the truth a little.

"So...how are the roller coasters at Magic Mountain?" I asked, leaning back against the table and crossing my arms.

Warren looked at me and laughed evilly.

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READ BELOW

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A/N: Okay, so to clear up the April Fools last update, if you read the authors note at the top of the last chapter, it told you that it was to be the final chapter. It wasn't, and I didn't put The End because you could just look at the BIG BOLD letters down the page that told you April Fools, it was pointless. So, sorry for the mix-up


	13. One Lovely Day at the Theme Park

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I had stuff that got in the way of my writing time, but this is my longest chapter. Enjoy!

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Standing in my room, looking in my mirror, I wasn't sure what I was more nervous about...

...the anticipation of the upcoming break-in/shut-down...

...or the nearly TWO HUNDRED FOOT DROP from the fastest roller coaster at Magic Mountain.

200 feet is HUGE!

And Warren swore that I would go on every damned ride whether I liked it or not.

Meany.

Sighing and rechecking my shiny, silver pigtails in the mirror, I grabbed my blue straw cowboy hat and plunked it on my head. It went perfectly with my rhinestone white cami and dark blue jeans. I was going for the country look today.

Walking down the stairs and into the living room where a few of the others were waiting, I caught a smirk on Warren's face. I don't even want to know what he was thinking right then. Probably something to do with my outfit. I smirked back and fell down beside him on the couch, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

We were waiting on Ethan and his girlfriend to get to the house so that we could leave. The plan was to take Ethan's car, which held all but two of us. So me and Warren were going on his motorcycle.

And he was taking _forever_. What was he doing? Driving like a grandma? Maybe I should give him some driving lessons. I think I might know a thing or two about going fast.

I guess we should cut him a little slack though, he was, after all, instructing his really cool computer to burn this disk that would help to rewrite the program all by itself so that he didn't have to do that stuff when we got up to the school.

Finally, after what was like an hour...okay, it was like five minutes, but you get my drift, Ethan, in all his orange glory, arrived and we set out. Everyone piled in the car and Ethan slowly and carefully pulled out of the driveway. Warren stood straddling the bike, but waited to start it, looking at me with amusement in his dark eyes.

"What?" I asked, just raring to go stomping off toward my doom aboard a plummeting roller coaster.

"You went all country on me today, didn't you?" He smirked thumping the brim of the cowboy hat, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yep, I'm straight up Jo Dee Messina." I said, hitting a pose with a hand on my hat and one on my hip. Yeah, I'm totally an undercover model...in my dreams.

"Who?" He asked, an eyebrow raising slightly.

"Jo Dee Messina. She is a country singer. Her latest song is called Biker Chick." I told me, putting my hands on my hip and swaying toward him, singing.

"_I like a man with a tan" _I ran my fingers down the side of his face, coming within a hairs breath, but not kissing him."_And a twisted chrome kick-stand, leaning on a **big **old bike." _I sang, backing away, emphasizing the words as the song did."_The low, rolling sound that'll shake the ground." _I belted out, shaking my hips,"_Coming out of long pipes." _I came back to him and intertwined our fingers lifting them to shoulder level, then clasping his flamed wrists_ , "I like a tattoo or two, or even more if they're cool" _Smiling, I slid my hands to his large biceps, "_On the big old arms of a long haired dude!" _

I laced my fingers through his own shoulder length hair and kissed him, smiling as I pulled away. "So, what do you think?"

"I think I should start listening to country music." He grinned, teeth flashing devilishly in the sun, helping me onto the back of the motorcycle. What a gentleman.

I smacked his tan arm playfully, "I meant my singing."

"Lovely." He replied, giving me a peck on the cheek and turning the key in the ignition, causing the bike to roar to life. Then we sped off after the disappearing orange car and pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later. The site made my stomach drop. There was not one, not two, not even a reasonable small number like eight, but about _fifteen_ giant, colorful rollercoaster's looming over the Magic Mountain sign.

This was going to be a GREAT day!

It took me all of the five minutes it took to walk from the front gate to the incredibly tall roller coaster that they insisted was the biggest, fastest one to realize I was a complete idiot. This thing was TALL. Like WAY up there in the sky TALL.

I know what you are thinking. She goes to a school that floats about the same level as a jet flies. She lived in a space station, in_ space_, which is just about as high as you get.

But, you don't realize something.

When was the last time I jumped off the school in a little cart going nearly 70 miles an hour?

Yeah, didn't think you could remember a time.

And, just for your info, I have never...um...never ridden a roller coaster. So...yeah, this was a little more than petrifying for me. Not that I would ever tell anyone (especially Warren) about my little glitch.

I think I might have been cutting off the circulation in Warren's hand as we stood in line, because he turned to me and shook my arm, making me loosen the vice I had on it.

"You okay?" He asked looking at me curiously, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, his warm fingers lingering on my cheek, his other arm coming around my waist, pulling me in closer to him. I had to admit, that was slightly comforting, but not very much considering my upcoming date with Doom.

"Yeah. Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked with a sarcastic bite, glaring into his coal black eyes. "It wouldn't be that bloody huge roller coaster that we are waiting in line for or anything."

"From country to English, are you having an identity crisis today?" He asked in his deep voice, joking to make me feel a little better. Uhh...it wasn't working.

"I'm fixing to have a heart crisis if you make me go on that roller coaster." I said bitterly, pointing at the monstrous thing in front of me. It was a red, twisted monster. I could hear it roar (yes, _roar_!) from where I stood in the ever dwindling line.

"Hey, Elle? Why are you shaking?" Will asked from behind me when we were next in line to get on.

"Because." I growled harshly, causing him to shrink back and not say anything else about my apparently shaky state.

I watched as a windblown group of kids got unsteadily off the thing and about four of them run for the waiting waste bins to hurl. Wonderful. What a great prospect I know have for my near future...Puke-o-rama here I come!

Here is the thing that sent off little warning bells in my head, I had to leave my hat and flip-flops behind! That meant it was not safe enough for my inanimate, unalive apparel! So, what about little, _living_ me? s, then we hopped into the seat WOOFCLUK! This big, sturdy looking bar came down over my head and locked.

I was stuck.

Shit!

I turned to Warren only to realize that I couldn't see him for the head support things. So, through gritted teeth, I asked, "Warren, why the hell did you make me get on this ride?"

"If it helps the first time I ever went on it I cussed the whole way up the lift." He said, laughter and anxiousness in his voice. That was when I noticed that his big, strong hands were shaking a little as well. Great, there goes my support.

"Lovely. I suppose you are just dying to listen to me do the same thing." I growled, panicking slightly as I heard the gears began to move. My knuckles were already white from gripping the handles that were on the bar.

Then the floor went vamoose.

Seriously. It was there one second, and gone the next.

And in doing so, it forced me to look one direction.

"They say it helps if you don't look down." Well, a little late for that. Then, just to make my heart rate go up a little more, he said, "Look, I can see the top of that building."

"Warren." I growled, taking a deep breaths and closing my eyes, trying not to look anywhere. "It would be greatly appreciated-

"And look, there's all of Maxville."

"If you would just-"

"You can see over the mountains."

"SHUT-UP!" I screeched at the top of my lung.

"And here we are." He said almost calmly. I just know that he had that stupid smirk that is just so damn hot plastered on his face.

My eyes snapped open and I realized exactly what seat I was in- the very, dad-gum first one.

If the ride were to break, and the car were to plummet mercilessly to the ground, I would be first to die!

It didn't help that we paused for just a second so that we could completely enjoy that 200 foot drop. Totally enjoyable. Then I could feel the pull, "Oh, shit."

Then, SWOOOOOOOOOO...OOOOOOOOOOOOOSH. Yeah, it was a long swoosh.

And it was so much FUN. Granted I wasn't really sure what was up and what was down, but the speed, the rush, and the flips were just...WHOA. I was laughing hysterically by the time we came to a halt about a minute later.

"That was AWESOME!" I exclaimed, bouncing in my seat as we slowly rounded the corner to the landing flat.

"Like kid in a candy shop." Magenta said sardonically behind me. I know she probably rolled her eyes, just because that would be so Magenta.

The bar let up and I glanced over at my boyfriend. He was all pale green and woozy looking. Not good.

"Is somebowdy feewing a wittle sick?" I asked in a little baby voice, not bothering to conceal the smile on my face. Warren swallowed and gave me an irritated look, causing me to smirk. "Karma, it's a bitch."

The fact that he was breaking for the trash bin and tossing up most of his breakfast made it a little hard to respond to my comment. What goes around comes around I guess. Or in his case, comes back up. I did feel a little sorry for him though, him being my boyfriend and all, I believe that I am subject to those feelings toward him.

"Feel better?" I asked him once he and Zach, who had joined his little puking spree, came back to where we were standing outside the ride.

"You could say that." He grumbled, a hand still resting on his stomach. At least he wasn't green anymore. "What's next? Log ride?"

"You're kidding?" I asked disbelievingly, my eyebrows shooting up my forehead. Not that I didn't want to go on another one, but... "You just dished out your breakfast and you want to do it _again_?"

"You don't go to theme parks often do you?" Ethan asked, clearly amused at my shock.

"Once...when I was little with Bruce, Dick, and Gavin. Me and Gavin were to short to ride the roller coasters." I told them, crossing my arms, knowing the laughs were coming.

They did. Huge gales and waves of them. Elle's just rode her first roller coaster. Ha ha he he. So funny. I wasn't the one who just puked my guts out.

"This happens to be common procedure for most theme park goers. Ride, puke, ride some more. However, some people, just bypass the puking part. It's the more enjoyable option." Ethan informed me.

"Crazies." I mumblied under my breath.

"So...log ride?" Layla asked, already skipping off in that direction.

"Sure, we just dropped 200 feet, now let's go throw ourselves off a ledge and slide down a line of rollers in a hollow plastic log. Sounds fun." Magenta said wryly, but not wryly enough that I couldn't hear the excitement in her voice.

Any excitement I had vanished when I saw who was walking a not far ahead of us. The Offspring. All of them. Sam Carvin with his blonde hair and creepy eyes, Teresa Zellan, her dark hair billowing softly in the breeze, Joseph Micheals with his steely build, James Shoals, a lion tattooed across his exposed bicep, and Theodore Mason, with his skinny build and shifty eyes.

On either side of me, I felt Warren and Will stiffen. The Offspring had noticed us as well and were doing little to conceal the glares.

Do you like their nickname? The Offspring. Fitting don't you think?

"So, who is up for some villain bashing?" Zach asked, punching one fist with another.

"Zach, I'm not exactly sure this would be the best time or place for that," Layla told him, gripping her boyfriend's hand as we continued the stare down. I had a feeling this is what the Earp/Holliday gang felt right before the showdown with the Clanton/McLaury gang at the O.K. Corral.

"Well, if one of them starts it, I won't say I will lose sleep for finishing it." Warren muttered, a steely glint in his voice, as he took a firm hold on my elbow and positioned himself so that they would literally have to get through him to get to me. Awww...he was trying to protect me. Too bad I am not really a fit candidate for the whole damsel in distrss gig. Except when in the vicinity of a knife. Knives seem to trigger the D.I.D. (**D**amsel **I**n **D**istress) thing in me.

"I say we let Will fly them to the top of that rollar coaster and drop them." Ethan whispered. Yeah, you read that right. _Ethan! _Maybe it was a guy thing.

Then Magenta mumbled, "To bad Zellan can fly, or that would be a great idea."

There went the 'guy thing' theory.

Well, seeing as I wouldn't be upsetting some worldly precendent of the 'guy theory', I decided that I might as well just jump on the bandwagon and give my opinion.

"Okay, I say we lure them out to the empty lot next door and have a go at them."

"Elle! You are supposed be with me." Layla squealed, looking totally betrayed. I just can't please everyone, can I?

"You know, I know this sounds odd, but do you realize that we, _the good guys_, are sitting here making plans to take care of them, _the bad guys_, that haven't even made a wrong move? It's a little ironic." Will mentioned with a wry smile.

Yeah, that was a little ironic.

But, come on, do you seriously think that they weren't doing the same thing over there while we watched them have a whispered conversation between their own red-eyed glares as us?

Then, as one, they moved toward us, Carvin in the lead, his blue, power hungry eyes glinting in the sun.

"Seems it doesn't hurt to plan ahead." I muttered darkly, stepping out from behind Warren.

We all stood stock still, holding our breaths as we watched them approach. When they were about six or seven feet from us, they came to a halt and flanked Carvin, arms all crossed.

"Well, well, well, if it's not the Do-Rights." Carvin sneered, eyebrow raised in challange.

"If it's not the Spawn of Evil-Doers United." I spat back dryly, taking an involentary step forward. I could feel heat blaze behind me as Carvin slinked forward, getting only inches from my nose.

"You're with one," He said with a maniacal smirk, giving a quick jerk of his head in Warren's direction. "Or does he not count. He still talks to him you know. Went to visit his dear old dad not to long ago in fact. Saw him with my own two eyes. I wonder what the old man thinks about you? What are you? The third ice girl, right? My, my, he does go through them these days."

Then, in a flash of heat, Carvin just wasn't there anymore. It was like the floor on the rollar coaster. There. Gone.

And apparently gone was rolling on the ground, fists flying and lashing out at my boyfriend, who had tackled him.

"WARREN!" I screamed, not knowing what to do. None of us did. Carvin's gang's was wearing much of the same expressions my friends were. Complete shock, eyes wide, mouths dropped. Will was quickest on the uptake and jerked the two apart and held them at bay, though, both were still trying to lunge at the other.

"Enough!" Will growled loudly, still holding the two apart. "We can't fight here."

"Who are you to tell us that?" Joseph Micheals asked angrily.

"Look where we are." Zellan whispered to him, laying a calming hand on his arm and trailing her fingers over his bicep...almost like a girlfriend would. Hmmm...and I thought it was her and Carvin that were together.

"Yeah, too much security." Shoals told his friend, joining Mason as he retrieved Carvin from Will's grasp. "We'll just settle this some other time."

Carvin was eyeing Warren, whipping the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. "Yeah," He mumbled, locking his fingers with Teresa's as they backed away. "Some other time."

The words, mixed with a big load of malice and spite, held a heavy implication of a threat. One that was intended to be carried out.

We watched them walk toward the exit and through the gate before we moved, everyone letting out a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

I turned on Warren, who was nursing a bloody nose, "What the hell were you doing? You want to get us thrown out of here?"

His eyes darkened, "You heard what he was saying."

"Yeah...and he knew what he was doing too. He was just trying to get a rise out of you, get you mad." I told him. "And it worked."

"He was talking about _you_." He growled, his fists clenching at his sides.

"Funny, I thought he was talking about you." I quirked, amused by the fact that it was the things he had said about me that bothered him more than what he said about his dad. Warren was about to say something back when he saw the smile on my face.

"You heard him." He said lamely, whipping more blood from his face.

"Come here." I rolled my eyes, grabbing a tissue I had put in my pocket earlier. "You'll get blood all over your shirt.

"Elle. It's a black shirt. It won't show up that much." He said as I cleaned the smear of blood on his face and putting the napkin in his hand.

"Still...it's just the point." I huffed when he tossed the paper in a trash can.

"Alright, _mom_." He joked, causing my to childishly stick my tongue out at him.

"You two are so weird." Zach accused. He was really one to talk.

"Yeah." Layla agreed. "He just gets attacked and yall just bypass it like the whole thing never happened."

"Actually, I think it was more of Warren doing the attacking than anything else." I pointed out. "I just joke like that to get my mind off of it."

"Right." Layla sounded a little unconvinced.

"So..."Ethan drawled, "Next coaster?"

"Sure, let's skip the log ride and go on that one that is a straight drop." Will agreed, leading the way to the next attraction.

Even while we walked toward the coaster, I could feel a sense of dread idling in the back of my mind. And with what had just happened, I should have known to be super worried, but of course, I didn't really want to think about it, so I just put it out of my mind.

The feeling however, increased greatly when we made our way up the incline of the second roller coaster in our little cart. And with reason. A boy stood at the bottom of the drop, hands raised, eyes glowing. It was Joseph Micheals. I barely got to point him out to Warren before something happened. Before our eyes, a large section of the coaster disappeared on the decline, only to relocated far away from anywhere it could do any good in helping us slide down the slope safely.

Ear-splitting screams broked the air as we neared the peak.

"Melt me out of this." I screamed to Warren, who was already working on his side of the bar.

"What are we going to do?" He asked, panic edging in his voice as his hand turned the bar in front of him to a dripping mess.

As an answer, I jerked my head back, to where I could hear Will breaking out of his seat.

But for some reason, Will was not getting out of the cart and flying us to safety.

I turned around in my seat, which was just starting to rise on the climax. To my horror, Will was wrestling with a lion.

Yeah, you read that right...lion.

Apparently Shoals had ran up the ride and was now attacking our only hope for survival.

"Elle, can you freeze the car on the rails and lower us down like you did the car in power placement?" Layla begged, her face going pale and tears welling up in her eyes as blood from Will's arm splashed onto the seat as he flew upwards with Shoals.

Wow...that was a good idea. Go Layla.

Concentrating, I blasted ice to the rails in front of us and continued with the rest of the cart as it hit the already formed ice. With effort, I lifted the ice off the bars and lowered it to the ground, some forty feet down, and landed us with a gentle thump.

"Warren, you work on getting the rest of these kids out of the cart. Layla, you, Ethan, and Magenta come with me. Zach, get all of these riders out of the area." I ordered when everyone gave me the deer-in-the-headlights gaze. Well, everyone but Warren, who was busy with Magenta and Zach's bar, and Layla, who was staring at her boyfriend, who was no more than a twirling dot in the air. What was taking him so long to get rid of the dude?

About the time this thought ran through my head, something big hit it. My head I mean.

And hit hurt. A lot.

I twirled around, clutching my head, and glared in the direction of Micheals. Or what had been just Micheals. Now it was Micheals & Friends.

"Hey guys...I think I need help." I called out, backing away from the teens in front of me.

It was Theodore Mason that charged first, so fast that I couldn't even see him, hitting me with a force that sent me flying back about ten feet. Then Warren was there, pounding the hell out of him.

"That's (punch) my (punch) girlfriend (punch) !" You sould be so glad that you were not that skinny little punk right then. He didn't look so good. But we really didn't have time to consider his new facial reconstruction, because then the rest attacked. I was twenty feet in the air before I could get a grip on what was going on. Zellan had me by the back of my shirt and didn't look like she was going any lower.

"So," I started conversationally, what else was I going to do one hundred feet in the air? "Does Carvin know you are two-timing him with Micheals?"

"Do you know I will kill you if you ever say that within hearing range of anyone." She growled, jerking my shirt coller, making my head bobble and whined as I watched my blue hat tumble to the ground far, far below.

So, it was true. Can you say 'Blackmail'?

"Are you planning on letting me down, or just take me up until we both faint from lack of oxygen?" I asked, still remaining uncharactoristically calm.

"No." Was all she said. That really answered my question.

Then the steady pull on my shirt vanished and I started plummeting faster and faster toward the ground. Bursting through a cloud (yeah, I was that high up), I came out soaked in water. Thinking as fast as I could while falling to my death, I drew the water out of my clothes and formed this little circle-shaped platform and used it like a hoverboard and used my powers to keep it afloat. It was fun. You should try it some time.

I heard a snarl from above me and looked over my shoulder to see Teresa flying at me, arms stretched reaching for me neck. Some how, totally wish I could tell you how, I did this little flip/turn that brought me upside down and back up again. Zellan went flying into a cloud behind me and came zooming back. This time, I had more time and a better postion to retailiate, so, I went with the common approach most people take when a crazy chick is flying at you-I punched her.

Have you ever punched someone while they are flying?

It is really funny.

They reel back...and back and back, doing all these flips in the air. Then they start plummeting to the ground.

It's hilar-PLUMMETING TO THE GROUND!? Oh, crap...I'm to young to be booked for murder!

I swung around on my little hoverboard and skysurfed down to her and caught her when we were still about 200 feet in the air.

"Zellan, you better thank me for this someday." I grumbled, still heading for the ground below.

I alighted on the ground and melted the iceboard. Mason was still laying where Warren had beaten him to a bloody pulp, so I just contributed to the pile by tossing Teresa beside him. Turning back to where I had left everyone, I saw that I was the only one who had suceeded in overtaking my opponent. Will was lying on the ground not far from me, his arm torn and bloody, but still there. Ethan and Magenta were working on Carvin, who was duplicating little bits debris from the wreaked cart and chunking them at the two. Layla and Zach were up against Micheals, who was currently wrapping Zach in a piece of railing and not paying any attention to Layla's vines that were creeping toward him. Warren flamed up and wrestling with Shoals, who was now a saber-tooth tiger.

Gosh, we were not looking too good.

I went to Will and made sure he was still...you know...alive. He was. Then I stood up and surveyed the scene to see who needed the most help. My first instinct was to go to help Warren, but he looked like he was handling the situation pretty well, so I turned elsewhere. Layla looked like she was doing okay, seeing as Micheals was currently hanging upside-down from the rollercoaster and was currently trying to get Zach out of the metal wrapped around him. Magenta and Ethan were doing okay, there was really nothing either could do to stop Carvin though. So, I went to help them.

I tucked and rolled, popping up beside them where they were ducking behind the crashed cart. Stuff was floating everywhere. It was like the scene from Matilda where she realizes what all her powers do. Only this stuff was dangerous and...pointy.

"Okay, so, what is your plan?" I asked, raising up between them. Both jumped at my presence.

"Uh, well...we don't have one." Ethan responded in a surprisingly optimistic voice.

"Well, hmmm," I said, assuming a pose at feigned deep thought. I then, had a lightbulb moment. This one wasn't as good as the last one though, you know the one where I realized Warren liked me. "Okay, Magenta, you shift and run up to him. Distract him somehow, I don't care how. Bite his toe or something. Ethan, can you move when you are melted? You can! Good. Okay, so you need to change right now and wiggle on behind him, directly behind him. Then get out of the way as fast as you can, or you might get frozen."

"Why can't you just freeze him now?" Magenta asked.

"Cause if I attempted to and he noticed, I would probably get my head bashed in by those things he is floating around. That's another thing. Why hasn't he tried to throw this cart away or something?" I questioned, looking down at the thing in front of me.

"He tried, it was to big for him. It seems he can only levitate little things." Ethan told me.

"Good. That helps." I nodded. I was starting to get a little breathless from all of the action. "Okay, let's go."

Ethan slinked away in his melted state and Magenta wattled away toward Carvin's toe.

This is how this little plan went through:

Magenta bit his flip-flop clad toe.

He screamed like a little girl.

Girly-screaming boy stepped away from offending purple rodent.

He stepped in...yes _in_...Ethan.

He fell.

I blasted him with ice and he stood there, frozen in a little Carvin cube.

Heroes win.

Yeah plan!

Now that we were freed of our nuisance, we turned to looked at the others to see who we could help. Warren was still battling Shoals, but had him on the run. Literally, he was running with his tail lit up. Layla had Micheals wrapped tightly in vines with Zach sitting on him.

While we rushed to Will's side, I heard people come running to the scene. The police. Yeah, now they deside to show up, not five minutes ago when a tazor would have been sorely needed. Well, they were here now and that's all that counts.

Will looked a horrible mess. His shirt was ripped to shreads by claw marks and his right arm was so mangled it barely looked like a limb and more like a piece of chewed meat. His face was mostly okay, just a few scratches around his chin.

"Did anyone see Shoals over take him?" I asked, wondering how he had. This was the world's strongest teen after all.

"Yeah." I heard Warren whisper gruffly. "Shoals had Will by the arm when Micheals hit him with some of the debris and he got grounded. That's when Shoals started playing cat and mouse with him, pulling him back down everytime he tried to fly back up."

"But he is super strong." Ethan pointed out.

"Not when your enemy is a giant saber tooth." Warren mumbled looking over to Layla, who was sobbing histerically. "He'll be alright, Hippie."

Layla glared at him with something close to utmost revulsion. "How can you say that?"

Warren jerked back at the intensity in her rising voice.

"C-can't you see him? He doesn't look all that alright to me." She was standing now, screaming because she didn't know what else to do.

"All I ment was-" Warren started in a soothing voice, but was cut off by a slap in the face.

"He isn't alright. He is far from alright. Don't say it." Layla was crying and screaming now, her red hair flying as she ground her fists into Warren's chest. To stop her, he envoloped her in a tight hold. She stopped fighting eventually and started bawling on his black shirt.

"He's my best friend, Hippie, I care too." He murmured, still holding her. I rose from my spot and wrapped my arms around both of them, squeezing tightly.

"Yeah, Lay, come on. He's the toughest guy I know. He'll bounce back in no time." I tried to tell her, even while I was looking at Will in a disparing gaze. Layla was right, he didn't look so good.

She nodded and let out a small sob that moved the others to wrap their arms around us to add to our group hug. We broke apart when we heard EMT's come over with a gurney in tow.

"What was this kid attacked by?" One asked skepically, not recognizing the scratches.

"A lion and sabertooth tiger." I whispered so that Layla, who was still leaning on Warren for support, wouldn't hear.

"What?" the other asked incrediously.

"Yeah, superpowers, they kinda suck when other people have them." I said, heading off this next question of 'how?' before he could say it.

"You are his friend's I suppose?" We all nodded. "We will be taking him to Gotham Hospital."

That was all he couls say before the hurried to place Will's in the ambulance and shriek off with sirens blaring.

"Looks like we are going back to the hospital." Warren mumbled sadly, remembering the last experience he had there.

"Yeah, Bruce is going to kill me when he finds out about today." I grumbled to myself. "We need to call Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold. Come on, guys. We have to get to the hospital."

Seems like are spending more and more time there lately. Well, off to Gotham we go...again. Gosh, this had just been one lovely day at the theme park.

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A/N: Hey, so what did you think? This story has got over 100 reviews! I am so happy. I would love some more...so...


	14. Fear of Repitition

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A/N: So the last chapter wasn't as big of a flop as I thought it would be. Hope you like this chapter, I got it out quicker than I usually do . Enjoy!

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Apparently we only thought we were going to the hospital.

No, our superhero butts went to JAIL! Yea!

Seriously, I'm not kidding. We were escorted away, with the exception of Will, who was in an ambulance bound for Gotham Hospital, in cop cars with sirens wailing all the way through town.

You see, since we did most of the kicking A and taking names thing, we are the ones in question for using excessive force. Yeah, we can save the world, but only just so we don't give the bad guys any boo-boo's. I guess the Offspring would have came with us had they not been beaten, frozen, or burned to the point that they had to go to the hospital too. Yeah, we did that.

That was another thing. Will was in the hospital. Layla was not with him.

Do you see where this was going?

Yeah, thought you might. You know the whole red-head temper thing? Well, our dear, gentle, kind-hearted Layla has it. Who'd 'ave thunk it? Not me. Okay, maybe a little. She did, after all, threaten Warren and I when we would not stop fighting. But that was for the sack of peace, so it was a bit different.

This, however, this was full-blown, red-head fury. I was a little scared.

As soon as we were taken to the sheriff's office, sat down in these really uncomfortable chairs (with a room full of armed guards, of course), she took off on a rant that rivaled any, and I mean any, that I have ever had the ultimate pleasure of witnessing. And you know that I have seen more than my fair share of them.

First, the sheriff made a remark about delinquents in today's society. Wrong move.

"Delinquents? DELINQUENTS?" Layla growled. "The _delinquents_ are getting first class treatment at that dang hospital where MY BOYFRIEND, who was nearly killed BY THEM, is currently being treated. If you want to see today's delinquents, you are in the wrong place, sir."

"Miss, I would prefer that you do not raise your voice. We are inside after all. I would just like to get all of this settled, starting with the excessive force you used to subdue those minors." He said hands clasp on the desk in front of him, a smirk on his face. Oh, he was on a power trip. Lovely. Luckily our favorite Hippie was there to bring him back down to size.

"Sir," Layla started haughtily. She came to stand in front of the desk and gripped the edges with both hands until her knuckles turned white. "I do believe that those people were trying to _kill _us and the civilians with us and we used what force necessary to take down the SUPERvillians. Them being SUPERvillians means that they had the means of fighting back with just as much or more force than we did. We have our share of injuries as well, unless you think that black eyes and bloody noses are the 'thing' now a days. Just so you know-it's NOT."

The sheriff had sat back in his chair and was steadily sinking down farther and farther, like a school boy being disciplined. "Miss, I do believe that we still have sufficient evidence that-"

"That what?" Layla barked, her maroon face contrasting with her crimson hair, an lethal glare in her eyes. "That we, the kids who just saved a cart full of civilians, are in the wrong? You, sir, are the one that I believe is wrong. Wrong because we did what was right by the only means necessary, by using the gifts that we were give because the situation demanded it. They were not unmatched. They, in truth, out powered us. We had three members of hero support on our side and four heroes. They were all in the hero category, not that they were heroes in anyway. We beat them with skill more than force. If it was excessive force, that would be Will, the one with super strength. But, as you know, Will is in the hospital with significant injuries. If you want to book someone, why don't you go fetch the real wrong-doer's from the hospital where they are getting pampered? Or better yet, get off this little power trip you are? Cause we have better places to be."

Boy, she _tolllld _**you**!

(_snap_)

. . . . . . . . .(_snap_)

(_snap_)

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You go girl!

You could have heard a pin drop. The guards just stared at Layla like she was a mad woman. The sheriff on the other hand, did not seem at all shocked, rather a little grouchy that she had pinpointed his antics to the tee. He was still sitting back in his chair, a frown etched in hard lines on his face, and arms crossed over his chest.

"Sarten." He barked, still glaring at Layla, who had remained standing in front of his desk, arms folded over her chest with a no-nonsense look on her face.

"Yes, sir?" The youngest of the guards stepped forward, eager to please his boss.

"Call Gotham Hospital and tell them to keep all of the minors in a lock down environment." Layla opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by an eye roll from the man behind the desk, who reluctantly said through gritted teeth, "Except for the Stronghold boy."

"Thank you." Layla responded with a sugar sweet voice.

"Your welcome." He growled in return as the guard went to make the call.

"So, what are you going to do with us?" Layla asked, a defined edge on her voice.

"I'm afraid that you have to stay here until released." He smirked.

You know what? I don't like him.

"What?" I growled from behind Layla, coming to stand beside her.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but it is procedure." He smiled, seeing the anger rise in both of us.

"Procedure?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. Procedure." The man nodded smiling still.

I was just about to come up with a very good retort when another man walked in looking about as pale as a dead fish.

"Umm...sir?" He said meekly.

"What is it, Manks?" The sheriff growled.

"Umm, their...ah..._parents _are here, sir." I stifled a laugh. No doubt it was my 'parents' that were causing him to act this way. The sheriff sighed and leaned his elbows onto the desk in front of him.

"Send them in." He ordered.

"All of them?"

"There can't be that many. Just send them in." He barked irritably.

"Whatever you say." The man shrugged, beckoning the men and women outside in.

The room filled very quickly. Both of Layla's parents came, as well as both of Magenta's and Ethan's. Zach's dad walked in after them. Followed by my 'parents': Diana, Clark, and Bruce, none in their supergarb of course. And to all of our surprise, Mrs. Peace walked in with Bruce.

"Mom?" I heard Warren ask.

"They let me go ahead and leave early when they heard about the situation." She told him, wrapping her arms around her son, who sagged against her small frame in relief of seeing her well again.

"I thought it was only parent's coming?" The sheriff asked in panic. Yeah, not so tough now are you?

"We are parents, sir. You don't mess with our little girl." Clark growled.

"Stephens, Johnson, take these children to a holding room so that I can talk with their parents about what is to be done." He told two guards, leaving three in the room with him. I do believe he was a little scared. We were corralled into a small interrogation room with a little table and a few chairs.

"We aren't going to be able to go tomorrow." I said once the guards had locked us in, pulling myself up onto the table.

"Why?" Layla asked.

"They are probably listening, Elle." Warren warned in a low whisper, nodding his head to a small box over the one-sided window. I nodded at my own reflection in it. I didn't have a clue if they were still outside.

"I was just talking about the movies." I responded innocently, causing Warren to smirk and shake his head. "But, Will was supposed to take us, and I doubt he will be up to it."

"True." Layla agreed, plopping herself into one of the chairs.

We all just looked at one another. What else could we do?

"Wait!" Magenta exclaimed with triumphant joy that I didn't know her capable of. "You can take us!"

"What?" I asked. How could I-

"I saw the ice board all you would have to do is expand it and we could all fit on it." She went on to explain.

"That's brilliant!" Ethan told her.

"One problem." Warren said with a frown. "I would melt the ice. My body temperature is to hot."

"Maybe if you stood on top of something and then Elle could freeze under it." Zach suggested.

"That would probably work." I told Warren, who was still standing four feet away from me. I beckoned him toward me with a crooked finger. He subtly shook his head.

'What' I mouthed.

He jerked his head once more to the window. It was all I could do not to laugh. He was still afraid of Bruce.

"Come here, you dork." I said aloud, rolling my eyes and laughing at him. Reluctantly, he sat down beside me on the table. He wouldn't let me kiss him though, not even on the cheek. Scaredy cat.

We were in there twenty minutes before the guards entered again and told us we were released. Bruce gave Warren, Mrs. Peace, and me a ride to Gotham where we all agreed to meet at the hospital. Diana and Clark had to get back to work, so they couldn't come with us.

"Rose, do you have plans to stay with anyone once you get home tonight?" Bruce asked when we got near Gotham.

"Yes, the Strongholds have been letting Warren stay with them and have asked that I stay with them rather than rent a hotel room. The house is almost repaired, so, I won't have to stay too long with them." She told Bruce with a smile.

We pulled into the circle drive of the hospital and got out, and were surprised to see that Mrs. Peace did not follow.

"What are you doing?" Warren asked, confused.

"Dear, I have spent more than my share of time in there, you will understand if I don't want to go back so soon. Tell Will that I am sorry that I could not make it. Bruce has made arrangement for a hairstylist to do something with my hair." She told him, looking at the still charred ends of her uneven hair.

"I think Will will understand. See you later." He said, bending into the car to give her a hug.

We arrived in the waiting room to find Layla and the Strongholds already there, looking much more calmer than the last time they were in the very same room.

"They said that Will's wounds were mostly just on the surface and the worst thing he had was the arm which they think is salvageable with operation, which is where he is now." Layla quirked optimistically, but the fact that she was unconsciously nearly wringing the dye out of her shirt hem, it made me realize that she was anything but optimistic about the situation.

So, again, we waited. Ethan, Zach, and Magenta arrived and were briefed on the situation. Two hours passed and a surgeon came into the waiting room.

"Will Stronghold's family?" The doctor asked of Mrs. and Mr. Stronghold. They nodded and he went on. "We have finished the operation and everything looks good. He is in recovery right now and you will be able to see him in just a short amount of time. He was very lucky; all of the wounds missed the important stuff. Quite amazing. A nurse will come to get you when he is ready."

He went back into the ER and we all looked at one another with excited expressions. Layla let out a relieved sob from her seat. Warren and Magenta gathered her into a hug and we all joined in our second group hug for the day, crying and laughing all at the same time. He was going to be okay.

When the nurse lead us to his room a little while later, she told us there could only be so many in the room at one time. Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold told the people at the desk that we were all 'family', which earned some odd looks, but they agreed. So, Layla and Will's parents went in first. You could see him groggily shaking his head and brushing off his near hysterical mother and questioning father, through the glass window. Layla was holding fast to his left arm hand, since the right was bandaged to about three times its original size, and she didn't look like she was about to let go anytime soon.

Eventually, the three emerged from sent me and Warren in, Magenta, Zach, and Ethan said that would go in together after us.

"Hey guys." Will said with a bit of a slur, the medicine was still in his system. "You doing okay?"

"Better than you." I said with a laugh, taking Layla's chair and patting his cheek. "You...look a little worse for wear."

"Really? I feel like I'm on the top of the world." He said with a goofy, lop-sided smile.

I snorted, "Wait 'til the morphine wears off."

"I'd rather not." He remarked, then turned to Warren. "You've got to keep an eye on Lay for me. They said I would only be in here a couple of days, but you know how all of us have a thing for trouble."

"Don't worry about her. She's safe with us around." Warren told him.

"I know." He said with a sigh. "No one else was seriously hurt were they."

"Just some bumps and bruises. It was mostly them that got the beating. You'll never believe what the cops did." I told him about the police station and the charges that they tried to drop on us.

"That's crazy." Will said, laying back onto his pillows. "So, are you still going up there tomorrow night?"

"Yeah."

"How are you going to get up there?" He asked.

"Magenta figured it all out." I explained about he ice board and how Warren was going to be about to stand on the ice and everything.

"That's cool." Will commented with a big yawn.

"Well, we had better get going before you fall asleep and the others get mad cause they didn't get to talk to you, Sleepy-Head." I said with a smirk, ruffling his hair in a sisterly fashion.

"See you later." He waved with his good hand.

"Did Bruce say when he was going to come pick us up?" Warren asked as we made our way back to the waiting area outside the rooms.

"No, but I'm starving. You want to just go ahead and go find some place to eat and then have him meet us there?" I suggested, my stomach growling loudly right on cue. Warren laughed and nodded, slipping his hand in mine. "Good. Let's say good-bye to Layla and the Strongholds first."

Once outside we hailed a cab and road to a nice little district of Gotham that was packed to the brim with good cafes and tall business buildings. We choose a little diner that was squished between a bank and a office building, then ordered and paid for our sandwiches and went to sit in the outside tables.

"This is so out of place." Warren said, looking around at the city. "It's like you took Smalltown, USA and put it right in the middle of Corporate America. It's crazy."

"Gotham is full of surprises like that. That's why I love this city." I expressed, taking a sip of my Dr. Pepper and looking around at the sites he just had.

"You miss this?" He asked me, motioning toward that raging traffic and buildings.

"Just like I miss the farm and great view of the moon." I told him with a sad smile. I loved Maxville, but I would always miss 'home'. All three of them: The Kent's, Bruce's, and The Watchtower.

He nodded and took a sip of his own drink. "This seems like it would get old. How do you sleep?"

"Sleep? Who needs sleep? This is Gotham, it never sleeps." I laughed. "It never stops. Work all day, shop all afternoon, party all night, get home, change clothes, and do it all over again."

"Sounds like a great place to have a Starbucks." He joked with a wide smile. I love his smile. It is always so open and inviting. One of those that makes you smile just because it is just that amazing. Not to mention it is perfectly straight and white and surrounded by the most kissable lips in the world.

"One on every corner." I responded with a laugh, moving my drink so that the waitress could put our food on the table, which caused me to notice that haphazard rose placed in small vase at the center of the table. "That reminds me. The computer at Sky High said your mom's name was Natalie, but you and Bruce called her Rose?"

"Her real name is Natalie, but everyone has called her Rose since before I can remember. When she was younger, she had this thing for roses. It wasn't until she was a teenager that they found out that she had a super power that dealt with roses only." He explained.

We talked more while we ate, most unlady and ungentleman-ly qualities I know, and tipped the waitress before getting up to leave.

"So, where to now?" Warren asked, one hand interlocked with mine and the other in his pocket as we strolled down the street, passing the bank.

"I guess we should call Br-" I was interrupted by an alarm sounding loudly in the building behind us. Warren and I spun around to see four figures retreating from the banks front door to a van that was parked closer to us.

I didn't have to be too close to recognize the first figure that was barreling toward us with a huge duffle bag.

Barron Battle.

I felt Warren tense and let go of my hand, just as he had earlier that day when we saw the Offspring. Only this was different. And more serious. I could already feel the heat rolling off of him. Real, honest-to-God fear welled up in the pit of my stomach. It would be father against child. Unwanted memories hit me like a ton of bricks, even though I knew the situation would not be the same. Warren was stronger than I had been, but his father was even stronger than he was.

"Warren, let's go. We can't take them on here. There are too many people who could get hurt." I said, trying to pull him away. He didn't budge. I looked at his face. It was trained on a figure not too far away with an expression of pure hatred. That was when I realized Barron Battle had stopped too. It was a stand-off between father and child.

Beads of cold sweat popped out on my forehead. When I glanced up, it was all I could do to keep my lunch down. We were standing in the mouth of an alley. It was like history was repeating itself as it always does. Now my fear was mixed with panic and I saw Warren take a step closer to his father.

"Warren." I begged, pulling on his arm, my voice wavering. "Warren, please. Come on. Not here. Please. Not here."

He didn't change his ridged stance, put looked down at where I was nearly sobbing on his shoulder. You guys really don't know how much this was scaring me. Or not so much as scaring as replaying the fear that once was. It is not something that I could ever put into words.

"Elle." He said calmly, bringing a palm to cup my cheek. "I have to go after him. I have to."

My heart went cold. He was choosing to do the worst possible thing he could every do to me. And he knew it. I had told him how deep this fear ran.

Twenty feet away, Barron Battle cackled loudly and retreated into the alley. Anger was seething through me now, as well as the fear, and in a last ditch effort, I threatened in a low, cold voice, "You know why I am trying to stop you. If you go in there after him, I will never speak to you again."

I could look him in the eyes when I said it, because my own were filling with tears because I already knew his mind was made up, so I said it to the crumbly sidewalk below our feet. When he said nothing I looked up sharply.

His expression had turned to anguish.

He was torn between revenge and love.

Between War and Peace.

How funny so many things in his life turned out this way.

"Elle," He pleaded, running a thumb across my cheek. I stuck out my chin defiantly. His dark chocolate eyes held a pleading, forlorn gaze and he brought his other palm up so that my face was incased in his large, calloused hands. When he saw that I was not backing down, he brokenly whispered, "I'm sorry."

Then he kissed me hard on the lips and sprinted into the alley after his father, leaving me leaning on a building for support, tears streaming down my face.

He had left.

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A/N: Well...what did you think? Can you please tell me? I want like twenty reviews on this chapter and tell me what you want to see in the upcoming chapters. I have the rest of the story planned out, but I want to know what you want to see and I might be able to squeeze it in. Review please!!


	15. Just Mad

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A/n: Sorry it took so long guys, too much stuff is going on and there is hardly anytime for me to write and I probably rewrote this chapter five times. Anyway, here it is, Enjoy! And y'all have given this story 125 reviews...you guys are awesome!

Tears were still trailing down my face when I decided to build myself a bridge and get over it. Yeah, you heard me right. Screw him. He could go and get his ass kicked for all I cared.

That was a total lie.

But, hey, a bit of pathological lying can be good for you sometimes. Sometimes.

I wasn't really sure how much time had passed since he ran down the alley and I didn't really care.

I was just mad. Plain old, spit-fire mad.

Being spit-fire mad it pretty hard to do for me, you know. Being the ice girl and all.

In fact, I was so fuming mad that I didn't even realize Bruce and Dick (in their Batman and Robin disguises) had shown up to save the day.

"Elle? What are you doing here?" Dick asked, dumbfounded to find me there, having almost ran past me before doing a double take.

"Go down that alley and you'll find out." I screamed over the blaring sirens that had filled the scenes.

"Did that boy hurt you?" Grayson asked, narrowing his eyes and grabbing my shoulders, making me look at him. "If he did, I swear I will kill him. Superpowers or no."

"Sorta, but his dad is down there probably beating the snot out of him. Batman will probably need some help." I told him, shrugging off his grip. "Give me your keys."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I am going home." I said as-a-matter-of-factly, snatching the keys out of his out held hand.

"Don't want to stick around? You can't tell me you don't care about him, cause I know you do." He called after me as I stomped toward his bike. You don't see girls just hoping on Robin's bike everyday, it's a little strange. There were no civilians around to see me do all of this. I think it might have been the fire blasting out of the alley every once in a while that kept them away. That's what I think at least. I took a quick glance around before I put on the helmet; the getaway van had disappeared.

"Bring him back to the Batcave if there is anything left of him." I yelled over my shoulder at Dick then slammed the helmet on my head and zoomed off into the streets of Gotham.

Yeah, I know, I was being uncharacteristically cold-hearted. But fear does that to you.

And that's what I was-afraid. I didn't hate him. And, yes, I did care. I cared a lot.

Somewhere around that thought, I decided that this bike was not going fast enough for me and pressed harder on the gas, letting the harsh wind blow away my thoughts.

I got to the Manor in a few minutes and parked the bike in the Cave before stalking up the stone steps and through the silver closet.

"Are you alright, Miss Elle?" I heard Al call from the kitchen. He had probably heard me trying to stomp through the floor with every step.

"I'm just FINE." I yelled, planting myself on the grand staircase in the foyer.

"I'll have you some tea in just a moment." He told me over the din of clatter pots and pans as he prepared supper.

"I don't want any." I grumbled loud enough for him to hear me. "Is Mrs. Peace coming back here after she gets back from the salon?"

"Yes, though, she has not phoned yet."

"Better go get her." I advised. "That idiot of a son of hers is down an alley with his father and likely getting destroyed."

"What!?" He exclaimed, a pan clattering noisily to the floor.

"His father is the one that broke into the bank and Warren and me were standing just outside of the building when it happened. He ran after his father. Bruce and Dick are down there playing hero right now." I explained, leaning back on the steps and closing my eyes, I figured I would be there a while if I was going to wait on them to get back. And I was. Going to wait, I mean.

"I will be back in just a few minutes, Miss Elle." He told me, bustling out the front door to get the car.

It was a while before they came get back. Not that I was keeping up with the time or anything. I just know I thought about a whole hell of a lot from the time that Al left and the time he brought Warren's mom back.

Like Warren.

And how much I hated him.

And how much I couldn't hate him.

And the fact that I was super pissed at him.

And the fact that I was super worried about him.

And why he had gone off down that alley knowing how much it hurt me to see him and his father do that.

And why he had gone off down that alley knowing how much it could hurt him to fight his father like that.

It seems I think in pairs. Hmm...I'm so weird.

It was only after all that and so much more, that they finally returned. Mrs. Peace was not in hysterics, thank goodness, nor did she appear to be freaking out in the slightest bit.

"He went after him then?" She asked in this sad kind of voice.

I nodded tersely, not trusting myself to say anything to her that wouldn't involve belittling her son in some way.

"It was inevitable, I guess." She sighed, sitting in on of the velvet covered chairs that sat in the foyer.

And we waited.

The light from the tall windows was slowly diminishing and the room growing ever darker.

What was taking the so long?

It wasn't that hard to take down the bad guy. I know. I had waited up on Bruce many times when he was on his little...outings.

It was nearly pitch black in the room when Al flicked on the lights and presented both of us with steaming bowls of soup. Not that either of us could eat.

Al was sitting down my bowl in front of me when low roar floated up from the other side of the silver closet.

"That." Al said, brushing his hands together, freeing them of cracker crumbs. "Would be Master Bruce."

I didn't jump up. I didn't move. I stayed right where I was. He was coming to me.

Mrs. Peace, on the other hand, could not wait, and followed Al down to the Cave, leaving me alone.

Which was fine, you know, nothing like being alone when you are terribly upset about a great many things. Nothing like it at all.

"He has this idea in his head that you are insanely pissed at him and are never going to speak to him again." A voice came from my left, the entrance of the silver closet.

"Wonder where he got that idea?" I replied lazily, examining a nail casually.

"I don't know where the 'she's never going to talk to me again thing came from', but I might have mentioned you were a little more than mad when you _left the scene._" Grayson said, clearly still shocked I had walked away. Well, blasted away to be precise.

"Pretty sure I said that to him right before he decided to go down that alley with his father." I said, meaning the 'never going to speak again' thing.

Suddenly, as if he hadn't really realized it before, his face donned a look of realization.

He rounded the banister and sat down beside me on the steps,"Oh, kid, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Can't really remember the last time you came after me in an alley with a knife...wait...no, that was a pie." I joked, laughing away the situation.

"Elle." He said steadily, giving me a hard look. "Don't joke about stuff like that.

"Like what? The fact my boyfriend scared the hell out of me? Or maybe that I still can't get over something that happened years ago? Hell, it might even be that he could have taken him on any place but there and it wouldn't have hurt nearly so much." I grumbled, kicking the floor rug with my foot, making it fold over itself. I to most people I made about as much since as ears on potatoes, but Grayson probably understood exactly where I was coming from, having seen me crazy mad on more than a few occasions.

"Al's going to have a fit if you leave it like that." Dick said, more out of habit from years of living with Al than actually chiding me. I rose from my seat and flipped the edge back over, giving him a 'you happy now' look. He frowned and looked at me. "Listen, I know you don't want to hear this, but maybe it was something he just had to do. It's different for those of us who had slightly different situation than you: Bruce, Warren, and me. There is just all this rage. Wanting to make that person suffer as much as you had and-and they had. He of course has some other issues with his father. Not being there while he was growing up. Being afraid that he would come after more people he loved, like you, the way he had already came after his mother.

I scoffed, "He doesn't love me."

"Really? How do you know?"

"We haven't even been going out a month. You can't fall in love in a month." I reasoned practically, sitting back down.

"You ever heard of love at first sight?" Grayson asked.

"The first time I saw him, he nearly barbequed me. In fact, for a while, I think he hated me." I informed him wryly, thinking back toward the beginning of the year. It seemed like a long time ago, now.

"There is a fine line between love and hate, Elle." He quirked, saying the old line.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Since when are you so eager to dish out relationship advice?"

"I just think you are making a big mistake." He said, getting up from the stairs.

"I haven't done anything yet." I nearly shouted looking up at him. Had I done anything?

"I'm not stupid." He said, rolling his eyes. I know he was implying that me being this mad at Warren was a big mistake.

"Could of fooled me." I muttered under my breath.

Grayson glared at me, then continued, "I am pretty sure you should just go talk to him. Personally, knowing you, I don't think you will do that. You want him to come to you."

Damn, he hit the target first try didn't he? Well, I **was** going to wait on him. So, there, what do you think of that Mr. Know-me-oh-so-well?

"You know, sometimes you are just to hard-headed for your own good." He grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"What happened to wanting to kill him? I think I like that line of thought better then this relationship advice one." I mumbled, trying to get him away from whatever he was trying to do.

"I decided he had good reason."

"What? What the hell did he say to you to make you think that?" I yelled, shocked by Grayson's answer.

"That doesn't matter, Elle." He said, bypassing a real answer.

"Like hell it doesn't." I growled, standing up.

"Look, I just really think he is sorry...and, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing." He told me truthfully, shrugging his shoulders.

"You...are despicable." I seethed, turning on my heel and stomping into the library, slamming the door as hard as I could.

So, Dick wasn't exactly going to side with me on this issue. Whatever. Bruce would. Bruce couldn't tell me that he wasn't mad. I bet he was seething.

With that smug thought, I sat and waited for Bruce to come to his study.

I heard the silver closet door close and slow, confident footfalls coming toward the room I was in. Bruce walked through the door, left it open, and set me with a stern gaze.

"What?" I asked, taken aback by his look.

He shook his head, paced silently for a moment, then turned back to me.

"Oh, God, you agree with him, too." I breathed. "You do, don't you?"

"Elle, you just don't know." He started, leaning on a bookshelf and running a hand over his tired face. "You two have entirely different pasts. Yet, so the similar."

"Yeah, our dads are psycho." I said with a sarcastic bite, "What a topic to bond over."

"Elle." Bruce growled in warning.

"What? It's true." I shrugged, standing up. "Look, I love that you and Grayson are trying to play couples therapy and everything, but I just really don't want to listen. Sorry."

I was almost to the door when he spoke, "Don't even think about going up to Sky High tomorrow."

Swirling on the spot, I screeched, "What? Who told you?"

"I did." A deep voice said softly from behind me. Warren, shirtless with clean, white bandages wrapped around his midsection and over his left should, was standing in the doorway.

Letting out a growl, I walked forcefully out the door, purposely plowing into his right side. Neither of the men called after me. I didn't know where my feet were taking me until I found myself in the garage. In front of me was a collection twenty of the fastest and most expensive cars and motorcycles available. You know where this is going, right?

Grabbing the key from the rack on the wall, I hopped into the driver's seat of the red Ferrari and squealed out of the garage doors. Where I was going, who knows? But I was going to get there fast.

I was on 2113 Street when I heard my cell phone over the loud music pumping from the radio speakers. Without looking, I fished it out of my pocket and didn't bother to look at the number before answering. Should have, but I was going flying down the streets of Gotham City and traffic was horrible because of the police road block; it was not a good idea to look down at that second. Anyway, back to who was on the other end when I answered. It was just who I wanted to talk to-Warren. Yeah, I really didn't want to talk to him.

"Elle? Elle. Wait! Don't hang up! Please." He begged desperately in a very un-Warren-like manner. I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah. I am pretty sure I had this 'not talking thing' going. Remember?" I grumbled, flying around a slower car, causing it to honk loudly. Warren didn't say anything. "Are you still there?"

"What are you doing?" He asked, probably wondering what the loud honk had been.

"About 103." I said, glancing at the speed-o-meter.

"WHAT! Elle, stop. You're going to hurt yourself." He yelled.

"Too late...you already did." I said in an emotionless voice, snapping the phone shut and pressing harder on the gas.

So, speeding recklessly trough Gotham was probably not what I needed to be doing that second. I should probably have been going back to Bruce's at a safe rate of speed and talking this out reasonably with my boyfriend. The one that had just ratted me out to Bruce. Hehe, forget the latter thought.

This whole segment is most likely making about as much since to you as a cracked teapot full of milk in a snowstorm, but I was angry and stuff doesn't go the right direction in my head when I am angry, so...yeah, sorry.

Anyway, back to me flying threw Gotham in a little red Ferrari. I was going in circles pretty much, turning down random streets with no sense of direction. All was going good until I happened to glance up at the rear view mirror and saw a silver Porsche coming up behind me. On the front was the interlocking B and W that was on the front of all of Bruce's cars.

Great. Bruce was following me now. Why...why couldn't he just let me release my anger in peace? It wasn't like I could lose him in Gotham either. He knew the streets better than the guys who built them. I was pretty much limited to stopping and letting him yell, scream, and fuss until finally, he would say I was in really big trouble and would send me back to Wayne Manor or running him in circles to see who would run out of gas first. What great options. Not.

I gave a defeated sigh, slowed down, and pulled into the parking deck at Wayne Enterprises (which is where I had ended up driving in front of when I spotted the car).

The guard waved me in, seeing the license plate on the front. Taking me sweet time, I drove around and up to the roof, which was mostly deserted save a few cars. Most of the employees rode the metro, so there were never many cars in the deck anyway. Finding a spot in the far corner, I pulled in and turned the car off, grabbed my phone off the seat where I had thrown it, and slowly got out of the car.

Bruce seemed to be taking longer than I had, which was strange. Most of the time when I was in trouble, he couldn't wait to jump down my throat about how horrible what ever I had done was. I leaned against the Ferrari and eyed the driver's seat of the Porsche, though, I couldn't really see it because he had had the windows tinted.

After a few minutes, the door opened and a large, tan hand rested atop the roof while the body connected to it emerged fully from the car.

It was not Bruce.

"If I had known it was you, I would have kept going." I said in a low, spitful voice.

"If you had, I would have kept following you." He returned, walking around the car.

"Couldn't stop and put a shirt on?" I asked tartly, crossing my arms over my chest.

Warren stopped in front of me, his hands in his pockets, patches tan of his chest showing around the bandages.

"Not with your driving." He smirked, then it faded back into a frown. "I shouldn't have done it."

"Wow. Seems I told you that a some point." I bit back, noticing the pain that flickered across his face and feeling a small tug at my heart.

Warren's frown deepened and he took a step backward, eyebrows furrowing together. "Did I not tell you this may happen? You are trying to blame it all on me, but I can't control some of this. I had to do _something_."

"Next time, pick a different setting...or different company." I growled stepping toward him.

"I didn't exactly plan for it to happen in the first place." He growled right back.

I stomped angrily and turned back to the Ferrari, glaring at the happy, red paint.

"This isn't going so good, is it?" Warren asked tiredly from behind me.

"What isn't?" I asked automatically.

"My apology." I turned back to him, a smirk on my lips.

"No." I shook my head slightly.

He let out a frustrated growl and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I'm sorry." He said simply. "That's all I can say. I'm sorry."

I looked at him.

When I didn't say anything, he continued, "I know it scared you because of what happened with your father. But, I'm not you Elle. And my father isn't your's. I am strong enough to stop him. And I have to stop him at some point, or he is just going to hunt the people I love down and next time they might not be as lucky as my mother was. You didn't see the way he was looking at you. He sees you as prey."

Grayson's words drifted back to me and a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. He was just trying to protect me, and the others, as well, from getting hurt. And it was not like I ridiculed Bruce and Dick from wanting revenge on their parents killers. It was just the fact that I couldn't get over something that happened a long time ago that was really making me mad...okay, and because Warren had done just what I had ask him not to because it reminded me of that event. And he had apologized for that. I was being a total bitch for hardly any reason. Damn.

Without thinking anymore, I threw myself into his arms, "I'm sorry. I was horrible."

"W-what?" Warren sputtered, clearly confused about my sudden mood change.

"I shouldn't have gotten so upset." I whispered into his bare shoulder, still clinging to him. "I was just freaked out because every time I though of you running into that alley, all I could see was my father. I shouldn't have freaked out on you. I'm sorry."

Warren, with one arm still wrapped around me, lifted my chin and looked down at me, "Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong. I made a choice and it was not the best choice, but it was what I had to do."

"I know." I nodded, nervously fidgeting with the corner of the bandage on his left shoulder. "I know it was the right thing to do, I was just being selfish."

"So was I." Warren broke in.

"We will be at this all day if we keep trying to counter one another." I smiled, looking into his dark, smoldering eyes that now held a smile not a scowl.

"Yeah, we will." He agreed before dipping his head down to kiss me gently on the lips.

I pulled away and gave him a small smile, "Can you just maybe promise you won't do it again? Well, it's not like you can. I mean, you caught him, right?"

"Elle." He said quietly in one of those voices that just screamed 'you don't want to hear what's coming out of my mouth next'. "He got away."

Well...that sucks.

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A/n: So, what do you think? Love it, hate it? Tell me...btw thanks for all the reviews...I am so excited! And I would love more! So, click that little button...


	16. I can't believe this!

**A/N: Here it is, the next chapter. I got this one out a lot faster than I thought, I even managed to read the new Breaking Dawn book while writing it. Still trying to figure out if I like it or hate it or have fallen somewhere in the middle of an exceptance. It was a little weird if you ask me. But, not terrible. But you aren't here to listen to my review on Breaking Dawn, you are here to read my story...So, enjoy...**

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"I can't believe this!" It was probably the thousandth time I had muttered the phrase since Warren had told me his dad had escape not only him, but Bruce and Dick as well. And I was putting the blame mostly on them...I mean, they were the experienced ones, weren't they? Shouldn't they be able to take down one guy?

I angily flung open door leading from the garage, pocketing the Ferrari keys. "Bruce Wayne, you have some explaining to do!"

Bruce was sitting behind the desk flipping through a Gotham paper and didn't hear me come in the door, while Grayson sat on the shelf ladder thumbing through a book. The smirk was evident in my gaurdian's voice as it drawled from behind the paper, "Yes, mother?"

"How could you let him get away?" I screeched, pushing the paper down from the middle so that I could see his face. Calm, cool, and collected. Damn. My own was probably red with re-vamped anger. Yeah, I bet looked like a tomato.

Bruce gave me an inquisitive eyebrow and looked over my shoulder at Warren, who was standing in the threshold. "I thought you went after her to calm her down?"

"I did, then I let it slip that we let my old man get away. Sorry." He said with an apologetic shrug.

"I haven't _actually_ said that I have forgiven you yet, so I would stay off the thin ice if I were you." I said in a haughty voice, then turned back to Bruce. "Where is he?"

"Well, you see, if I knew that, I would be putting him in the next cruiser to Arkham, but I don't." Bruce said calmly, setting down the crinkled paper. "You are staying here tonight, by the way."

"What?" I yelled in surprise. "Why?"

"You are planning a little break-in, if I remember right. I don't think that would be in your best interest at the moment and it would probably be best if you were hear where could get my hands on you if I needed to. I know you, Elle." Bruce said seriously, leaning back in his chair and placing his hair behind his head, a no-nonsense look on his face.

I knew there was no talking to him now, so I turned on the one person who was responsible for this whole damn mess. "I take back my apology of being a complete bitch. If you hadn't run down that damned alley, freaked the hell out of me, got in deep enough for them to have to come save your ass, gotten hurt, spilled the beans about the stupid school thing, and in general been an ass, none of this would have happened!"

Warren just stood in the door wide-eyed.

"So, I do NOT forgive you! And when they whole school blows up because you wouldn't let us go shut it down, I am going to blame **you**!" I screamed, poking his chest. Without another word, I left the room and stomped through the mansion. When I saw my door, perfectly polished in its wooden glory, I breathed a sigh of relief. A refuge from this mad world that I seemed to have fallen into. In a surprisingly calm manner, I slowly opened the door, closed it, then propped a chair under the handle so that no one could come in. Still in my calm revere I turned toward my room and sighed.

Letting the anger once again brim over, I flopped down on my bed. My face now stuffed into a pillow, I gave a frustrated scream. It had been a looonnnnggg day.

Seriously.

It had just been a zippity-freaking-do-dah day! Not. I would hate to cram all the crap that had happened into a week and I had done it all in a _day_.

My phone rang and I groaned and stretched my hand out for the bedside table where it was sitting. My hand aimless patted around the smooth surface, and finally located it without even lifting my head from the pillow.

"Hello?" I answered in a tired, irritated voice. This phone call was interrupting my musings.

"_Elle? Hey, it's Ethan." _A young voice came from the other side. It sounded slightly distraught.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, knowing there was something.

_"The bank robbery and alley fight is all over the news."_ This was Magenta cutting in._ "Are you two okay?"_

"We're fine, I'm just a little pissed. Warren let it slip to Bruce about the school raid, so, it's a no go."

_"Dude, what did he do that for?"_ Zach asked in a loud voice from the background.

"Hell if I know. He didn't bother to tell me before he mentioned that his dad got away. I kinda threw patience out the window at that point." I said wryly, narrowing my eyes at the thought of the traitor. Not that they could see it, because they were miles and miles away, and I had my face in a pillow.

"Would you like to know?" I deep voice came from my doorway, causing me to groan in irritation.

Wait, what happened to the chair?

My head snapped up from the pillow and I saw a hole burned right through the door, a black hand print on the chair (which was tipped over on the floor), and Warren standing in the doorway.

"Guys, I will call you later. Bye." I said hurriedly, snapping my phone shut before they could say anything. I sat up and glowered at my boyfriend. "You owe me a door."

"I owe you a lot." He admitted in a sad kind of voice, running a hand through his hair and sitting down heavily on a chair. "First of which, is an explanation, I guess."

"I would like one of those, yes." I agreed spitefully, bringing my legs up cross-legged on my bed and waiting.

Warren took a deep breathe and began, "Like I said, I was only trying to protect you. I couldn't stand it if I lost you knowing I could do something."

"Repeating yourself doesn't count as an explanation, Warren." He winced and stopped talking.

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees, clasped his large, hands together, and stared at them. His mouth opened to speak a couple times, and finally began to talk, "He knows. They know. Going to the school would be a death sentence. And I couldn't put you in that kind of danger. "

"How?" I questioned intently. Where one of them a mind-reader, too? That would be just great, now wouldn't it. Not only do they out number us and have it out for us, but now they can see our every move. I knew even as I thought this, it wasn't true. They would have done us in a long time ago if that was the case. No, it was something else.

"Hell, if I know. but they do."

"Are you sure he wasn't just bluffing?" He had to be right? I mean, how could he know. It had only been us in the room.

Warren looked up at me with an apprehensive gaze and nodded. "Very sure."

"What did he say exactly?"

"When he was running away, he said, "Better watch your little girly's back tonight, you know how things tend to explode at that school.'" Warren parroted just as he had with the phone call on Halloween, sitting back against the chair as if the though exhausted him. "He couldn't have said it plainer."

A thought hit me like a ton of honeypots. I know, it hurt, but it sure tasted good. Like a step toward sweet victory.

Gosh, I'm so corny.

"Well, great." I exclaimed, falling back onto my bed. "Now we have a snitch."

"Apparently." He agreed with another sigh. I heard him squirm in the chair. He was getting nervous about something. "How long do you plan to stay mad at me?"

I tried not to smile. It was so un-Warren-like for him to ask that. It was kind of...cute. He would hate to know that I was thinking that.

"Depends." I responded vaguely. Evil, I know. But my anger toward him had died down again. He had only been trying to protect me. Of course, the little Elle's on my shoulders were arguing, clearly trying to define the 'depends' statement.

__

Depends on how much he grovels, seeing as he ratted you out and did the one thing you begged him not to.-said the little devil me on my left.

Depends on how much she wants to toy with him, because she knows in her heart that he was looking out for her benefit.-argued the little angel me on my right.

The only benefit he was looking out for was his own.-The bad side of my conscious seethed.

It's only human to be selfish...beside, it really turned out from the best. If he hadn't gone down there, we never would have found they knew about the school raid.-countered my more logical side.

Yeah, but he didn't know that would happen. He hurt you. He knew exactly what he was doing- purred the little devil.

Well, wouldn't you do the same thing? The man has put him through Hell. Who wouldn't want revenge.- retorted the angel on my right. Does anyone else think my angel conscious is not very angelic. Angels never struck me as the revenge wanting type.

I silenced my conscious and pushed myself back into sitting position so that I could look at my boyfriend. He was still sitting in the chair, miserable frown set in place. His dark, red-streaked hair was sticking up haphazardly from the number of times he hand ran a nervous hand through it.

"So, what else do you owe me?" I asked, a devilish smile rising to my lips. Warren quirked an eyebrow and a grin to match my own flowed onto his face, knowing he was forgiven completely. I know, it was a little soft, but it was

He rose from the chair, swaggered over to me, and purposely plunked himself down in front of me, the devilish look moving to his eyes. "Well, I do owe you a kiss for being a complete ass earlier."

"A kiss." I repeated thoughtfully, a speculating pout forming on my lips along with a small crease in between my eyebrows. "Hmmm, that is pretty good compensation, I would say."

"Well, then..." A pair of flaming lips crashed onto my own, causing the air to steam around us when our powers clashed. I could feel his muscles ripple under my touch as my hand came in contact with his bare skin. He still hadn't bothered to put on a shirt. Not that I was complaining. I let out a sigh when his kisses moved down my jaw line and to the tender skin on my neck.

"Now, you can't be giving her a hicky before the big gala...it would be rather embarrassing, I imagine." A voice said from the open doorway. Warren gasped against my throat and snapped around to look at the source of the voice. My nerves grated together with irritation. Couldn't I make it through one moment, one kiss, without being interrupted? Though, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Warren pale. It was just Grayson. But Warren didn't find it so amusing. This was probably his worst nightmare...being caught kissing me...in Bruce Wayne's house. He had always been so careful to watch who was around when we were showing even an ounce of PDA. Now, in the confines of my bedroom, we had been caught. It was almost ironic.

Wait. Gala?

I asked Dick what he meant.

"Bruce doesn't trust you not to go running off to the school soon as he sends you back to Maxville. So, you are going to be my 'escort' for the latest charity gala. Don't worry Gavin will be there." That didn't do much to pacify me and I set my icy glare on him. He just had to go ruin my weekend with that little info, didn't he.

"Where's Barbara?" I inquired, my eyes narrowing. Barbara Gordon was his girlfriend of two years and the Commissioner's daughter. Not to mention perfect arm candy for stuff like this.

"Paris." Of all times to take a vacation, it had to be on the very day I didn't need her gone. Way to come through, Barb.

One bright blue pillow came in contact with Grayson's head. "Gosh, you suck."

"Glad to annoy you." He chortled, giving a smug bow, then made a hasty retreat as another pillow rocketed toward him.

"You think he will tell Bruce?" Okay, that had me rolling on the floor. Literally. I was on the rug, dying with peals of laughter.

Finally, I got enough control of my giggles to respond. "N-no. I think-k it's okay."

"Where were we?" He asked in attempt to distract me from laughing at him, pulling me back to my feet now that he was reassured the danger was gone. Scorching hands pulled me closer to his chest and I sighed against his lips as I let myself melt into his hold.

Then, just cause I'm me and shit like what's fixing to happen always does.

My cell phone rang.

For like the millionth time in the very short expanse of my relationship with the hottest (literally) guy I could ever imagine dating- ONE FREAKING MINUTE! JUST ONE! ALL I WANT IS ONE FREAKING UNINTERUPTED MINUTE!

"Hello?" I answered coldly, still in Warren's arms.

_"Hey, Elle?"_ It was Layla.

"Yeah." Who else would be answering my phone? Barney the Dinosaur?

_"Look, we are all meeting in Will's room at the hospital. The staff said it was okay. Can you and Warren meet us in about ten minutes? I already called Ethan, Zach, and Magenta."_

"Sure, We'll be there. See you then." I flipped the phone closed. "We have to head out. Layla wants us to meet her at the hospital."

"Something wrong with Will?" He asked, concerned appearing in his dark eyes for his best friend.

"She didn't say, but she didn't seem to be panicking or anything, so I doubt that's it." I mussed, grabbing a blue hoodie out of my dresser and shrugging it over my tank top and pulling on a pair of silver sneakers. "Probably heard about our little adventure and wants to know all the gory details."

Padding through the house, I made a pit stop in Grayson's room and asked him for a shirt so that people wouldn't be gawking at my man's awesome bod. I didn't put it in those terms of course. Dick might have said something that would send flames to my cool cheeks. Trust me...it would have been that bad. We found Warren's mother in the Kitchen with Al, who was teaching her to make a foreign dish that was one of my favorites. They said that they would see us later, advised us not to stay out to late, and sent us on our way. Yeah, it was nine, late was already the problem here.

I remembered I had the Ferrari keys in my pocket from earlier and went straight to it, but not before noticing Warren's doe-eyed look as we passed the Lamborghini, Bugatti Veyron, and Mercedes-Benz that he had been to distraught to notice earlier. Boys. Oh, well, I liked Bruce's little red Ferrari. Plus, it was less likely to draw attention than the Bugatti Veyron. I mean, it's not everyday you see a car that costs more than a house. Well, most houses. Bruce's was probably a little punch in the pocket.

The white walls of the hospital halls was all we had to greet us when we ventured through the double doors. A frenzied nurse rushed past us with a vial of medicine in hand. Will's room was easy enough to find on our own though.

Will, his complexion significantly ruddier than earlier, waved us in through the window. "Hey, guys. Heard you had some more fun after you ditched me here."

"Sorry, watching you snore was not the top most priority on our list." I joked, making a loud snoring sound. And I am a great snorer, if I do say so myself.

"Hey! I don't snore." Will protested, then, in a quieter voice, as if to reassure himself, he added, "I don't."

"What ever you say, Sleeping Beauty." I grinned. Behind me the squeak of a door opening alerted me to someone else's presence. A nurse with a large syringe full of a white substance. More morphine.

"Uh, you going to be able to keep it together with that stuff in you?" Warren asked dubiously, remembering the effect it had on him earlier, probably.

Will paused a minute while the nurse advanced toward him with the needle. "Right. Can you come back in a little bit? Waiting a little longer won't hurt too much." He asked sweetly. The nurse agreed and left the room.

He tried to push him self up, but in doing so jarred his arm, he sucked in a sharp breathe through gritted teeth. So, much for him only hurting a little, huh?

"Told you, you wouldn't like it when that stuff wore off." I remarked, while me and Warren helped prop him up on some pillows.

He nodded and said in a strained voice, "It's a necessary."

"Where is Layla?" I asked, wondering why the red-head wasn't doting on her beloved.

"Here I am!" A sing-song voice resounded from the door. Who else could be that damn happy? No one, but our dear Lay, of course.

"Cool the pep, Hippie." Warren scorned lightheartedly. Layla stuck her tongue out at him.

"The others are on their way?" I asked Layla, who was holding an arm full of can drinks for all of us.

Setting down the cans as carefully as possible, she nodded. "Should be here in a few minutes."

A crash in the hall alerted us of a outside presence in the hospital. The commotion was followed by a loud male voice apologizing profusely for whatever he had done to make the crash. Layla and I stuck our heads out the door and saw a ball of purple, yellow, and orange clothed peoples tangled on the floor, a cart flipped on its side, a wheel still spinning, and a nurse looking at the scene in a mixture of shock and amusement.

"Come on, guys, no time to stop and play." I joked, laughing at the situation in front of me. Magenta detangled herself gracefully from the clump and helped her glowing boyfriend up.

Still apologizing, Zach lifted the cart up right and pushed it over to the nurse, who was trying not to giggle. "Dang, I'm really sorry about that, Miss."

"It's quite alright. Thank you." She brushed the apology off, wheeling the cart away from the accident zone.

"Boys. You can't take them anywhere." Magenta huffed, entering the room at the head of her small group. "So, what's this about, Layla?"

"Want something to drink?" Layla asked, stalling while some RN's lingered outside the door, talking in a hushed conversation.

"Sure, love one." Ethan said, taking the can in Layla's outstretched hand. He looked at the cola gripped in his hand and frowned, then looked at me. "Elle...do you mind?"

I rolled my eyes and took the can, cooling it down several degrees before handing it back to him. That's all I'm good for. Elle-The Portable Fridge. Lovely alias, don't you think?

"Okay, they're gone." Layla whispered. Ever the dramatic one.

"Right. So, what's going on?" Warren asked as he crossed the room and stood behind me, hands resting comfortably on the tops of my arms.

Will coughed slightly from the bed, making everyone's head jerk in his direction. "We have a problem."

"Will," I said, a teasing smile on my face. "We already have a problem. Fifteen supervillians wanting to blow up our school and kill us."

"Well, we have a bigger problem." He countered reluctantly, like he didn't want it to be real. **Wait**...I didn't want this to be real either! I wanted this all to go away where I could just go on my merry way through superhero training. Yeah, that sounded a lot better. But then...where's the adventure in that? "Warren's dad robbed a bank. So, that means they need money. For what? is the question."

"You need a lot of money to buy explosives, Will. You can't exactly use bottle rockets to destroy a school like ours." There was my two-cents worth. What else would they need it for? Candy? To silence me, or to make sure I didn't snap like I had the tendancy to do today, he moved his hands from the tops of my arms, to wrap around my shoulders completely, pulling my back flush against his chest, and leaning his chin to rest on my collarbone. The heat was rather comforting, if I do say so, but then, that happens anytime I am around Warren and not in an...uh, irate mood. I think it was because the heat neutralized my powers slightly.

"That does sound pretty plausible." Magenta agreed to what I had said about the explosives, biting her lip and snuggling in closer to Zach's side. Once again, they are just the cutest little couple. Really, you just want to go 'aww' when you see them.

"We have another problem." Warren's deep voice rumbled from behind me, the whisper of his breathe catching the wisps of hair around my face. Everyone gave him a perplexed look. "My dad knew about the school raid."

You could have heard a feather hit the white tiled floor beneath our feet. Everyone just stared in my direction, at my boyfriend, and blinked.

"We have a snitch." He said seriously, sending everyone's eyes wider.

"Explain, please." Layla asked, fair eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Warren told her what happened, purposely leaving out the parts that put me in a rather bad light and might target questions about my past.

When he finished, the wide-eyed looks turned panicky. Seriously, their eyes started to flit around the room, as if looking for an escape from the traitor that was no doubt in this room. To me, the looks brought comfort. The fact that all of them were panicking at the thought of a regular Benedict Arnold in our ranks, meant that none of them could be. Or we had a really good actor or actress.

"I can't believe this." Layla whispered under her breath. I gave a wry grin. That line sounded a bit familiar today.

"Well, fess up." Will growled, anger showing up in his accusing glare as it passed over each of us.

"Will, you can't think one of us would do that?" I asked, shocked that it was him doing the accusing. Mr. America Jr. was always on the positive with his girlfriend. Shouldn't he be not believing this with her. It was so unlike him. Probably the drugs they had him on. Nothing like a good set of meds to make you paranoid.

Except that there really was a reason to be paranoid. Someone had ratted on us. But, who?

"Well, who else knows?" Magenta intervened before Will could respond. She took post in the center of the room and turned to face each of us. Warren with his arms wrapped around me, protecting me from the little Goth. Layla sitting on the bed beside Will, who was stony faced. Ethan. Zach." Who told someone...anyone...I don't care if it was your dog who found out."

"What if there was someone at the station when we were there today?" Zach suggested, furrowing his brow in deep thought.

Ethan shook his head. "The glass was sound proof."

"A bug in the vent?" Everyone looked to Layla.

"That would be pure chance. No one would have known we would end up in that room." I pancaked the idea. It just wasn't that easy. It never was. "It came from one of us. Something someone said in passing or-"

The gasp Ethan let out quieted the room, making him the focus of our group. His face went ashy and there was a new fear in his eyes.

"Oh, God." He let out a choked whisper. His eyes jumped around the room, observing the confusion on everyone's faces. "Oh, God." He choked again.

* * *

**A/N: Well, tell me what you think? Can anyone guess who it is? I'm sure you can...anyway, I would love some reviews to add to the _136_ ( I LOVE you guys!) that I already have. So, please, review.**


	17. We have a Harry Potter situation,people!

**A/N: Hey, got this one out much faster than I thought. And, with the updates to the site, I can tell how many people from each country have read my story. So, Hi all you people from USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, UK, Phillippines, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa, Romania, Estonia, Argentina, Brazil, Singapore, Bulgaria, Morocco, UAE, Mexico, and India! That is so awesome. Anyway, this is the longest chapter yet, and I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

Ethan looked like he was fixing to be sick. "Guys, I-I...I didn't mean to."

No one moved, just stared at the poor kid, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor. I was the first to move, detaching myself from Warren's arms and walking to him. He stared up at me in something near fear when I put both hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Who is it?" I asked softly, not wanting to scare him with the voice I wished I could use. I really just wanted to scream, but this was Ethan, he was just to nice to yell at.

"A-alicia." He stuttered, eyes unfocused, as if he was thinking about something that had happened in the past. "I...she...She was up in my room when I was working on the program. I didn't even think about it."

"Ethan," I smiled, letting out an internal sigh. He was just getting himself worked up over nothing. "That doesn't mean it was her."

He stepped back from me and glanced around the room. "There's more."

"Oh?"

"She started asking questions. They were about stuff she really shouldn't know about. Like the escapee's and their kids. I know she saw the name I saved the program under-"School System Shut-down."

Nice alliteration. Oh, Elle, this is not time for English jokes! Shut-up.

"Why do you think she would tell though?" Magenta asked, coming up on my right. I could feel someone settle near my left shoulder. A whiff of honeysuckle told me it was Layla. Being stared down by three super-girls was probably scaring the hell out of him, even if we were his friends. From his expression, that's exactly what we were doing.

"She hasn't called me in two days. She hasn't answered either. It's like she slipped off the face of the Earth." His voice quivered in panic. "And she knows we have superpowers. And she knows about the school."

Dammit, boy, what were you thinking?

"E-than." Will groaned, "Why did you have to tell her all that?"

"Well, her father is a superhero, it's not like she doesn't know about us. I didn't think she would do anything like this." Ethan explained frantically. Seriously, two more questions and the kid would be going into a panic attack.

"That still doesn't prove she did anything, Ethan, just calm down." I reassured him, sitting him down in a chair.

"Wait." He murmured with a sigh, "There's still more."

"What?" Magenta asked, an eyebrow rising.

"Umm...Theodore Mason is her...He's her ex-boyfriend." The boy in orange said quietly. Well, that's something, now isn't it. To my surprise, Ethan continued, "And he called her three days ago."

Gasps filled the room.

"Dude, that sucks." Zach said, Magenta elbowed him in the ribs.

Ethan started apologizing immediately. "Guys, I'm really sorry. I-"

"You couldn't have known, Ethan." Layla soothed, her musical voice having a calming effect on him. "Don't worry about it yet."

"Well, guys, looks like we are going have to catch ourselves a snitch." Will grumbled. I nearly...nearly...laughed at that.

"Well, Harry Potter, who is going to do that?" I smirked. Come on, he had it coming. A small grinned lifted the corners of Ethan's mouth. See...ha, it got him to smile.

"Ethan, can I have her number?" Layla asked, an idea apparently in her head.

"Yeah, here." He told her the number as she dialed.

Duh-duh-duh The return of the evil red-head temper. Twice in one day. I think this was an official record.

Layla smiled evilly when someone on the other line picked up. "Alicia? Ah, dear, dear Alicia. Do you know who this is?"

The smile across her face stretched when Alicia answered the question.

"This is Layla Williams...and you...are dead." She said in a sickly sweet voice. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"

Alicia paused and then a voice could be heard coming through the phone, but no one but Layla could hear it.

"Oh, so if I looked up 'nothing' in the dictionary, I would find 'backstabber' out beside it?" Layla asked with disbelievingly sarcasm, raising her hand up in the air questionably. Alicia said something. "I didn't think I would."

"Layla, put it on speakerphone. I want to hear her." I begged, shaking her arm that was holding her phone to her ear. She rolled her eyes in irritation and hit the button, letting us hear the conversation.

"It's not like I could help it. They aren't exactly nice about how they get information out of people. I was threatened. They threatened me." Alicia argued through the phone, anger rising in her voice as we accused her.

"And you just told them everything like a good little traitor, didn't you?" Layla seethed icily. Dang, she sounded as cold as me.

"No." She said a little to quickly.

Something popped into my head, "So, how did they know you knew something?"

"Uh...um, well..." She stuttered, grappling for an excuse. Looks like someone is LYING!

"That's what I thought. I can't believe you." I spat in disgust.

"I never had any ties to loyalty to any of you." She said, on the defensive now. Oh, no she didn't.

"What about Ethan...your boyfriend?" Magenta asked, turning red in anger.

"Ha, I played you all, just deal with it." She laughed evilly, then the line went dead.

I turned away from the phone. "That...little...bitch."

"I think I want my morphine now." Will said bitterly, probably feeling the same thing about Alicia as the rest of us.

"Ethan, man, you cool?" Zach asked his best friend. Ethan looked lost. Completely and utterly lost. Layla, Magenta, and I all descended on him at once, forming one giant hug.

"She was trash anyway Ethan." Layla comforted. Everyone in the room eventually took their turn giving Ethan the biggest ego boost we could think of. If I were that kid, I would be flying over the moon with all the ups we were giving him. But, this chick had just broke his heart. He couldn't even manage a smile.

A cough from a very pain-ridden Will, made me look at the clock that sat on the other side of the bed. The bright neon symbols read 11:03. Crap. Bruce was going to fry my ass if I didn't get home soon!

"Hey, guys, sorry, but I gotta jet. I'm on curfew tonight." I apologized, grapping Warren and pulling him to the door as I yelled goodbyes and promised phone calls, then booked it to the Ferrari.

"Elle, you can slow down. We don't exactly have a specific time to get home by." Warren told me in the car as the speed-o-meter passed eighty. A grin had spread across my face and I noticed he was griping the armrest as if his life depended on it. Silly Warren. Did he not know I this was slow for me?

"You haven't lived with Al. Late is 10:30." I explained, turning down the dimly lit road that led to Bruce's drive. Warren nodded, still gripping the armrest. "You can chill okay, my power gives me really good reflexes when I use it."

"Huh?" He grunted, a questioning look appearing on his face. Bruce's house loomed in front of us and I slowed to an appropriate speed just in case Al was watching. Not that he could say anything...Have you seen _Bruce_ drive? _Man-i-ac_!

"I'll explain inside." I said, pulling into the garage. "After Al gets on my case about staying out so late."

Al and Mrs. Peace were waiting for us in the den. Standing side by side, they stared us down with that 'adult' glare. Uh...I think it was safe to assume we were in a tad bit of trouble. Just a tad.

"Where have you been?" Mrs. Peace asked in a low, stern voice. Dude, she's scary when she's mad.

My boyfriend's deep voice stopped me from answering when he murmured under his breathe,"Let me handle this."

Warren's face broke into an amused smile at his mother's words and went to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, mom. We were just at the hospital with Will." He soothed, giving her a loving kiss on the cheek.

His mother's tension seemed to ease and a slow, abashed smile spread across her face. " I was just worried about you, Warren. With you father on the loose here in Gotham and us not kno-"

"Mom, we were in a Ferrari." Warren grinned wider, dark eyes twinkling in amusement, and shook his head, "He wasn't going to catch us."

Mrs. Peace let out a relieved sigh, the rest of the tenison floating away with it. "You two haven't eaten since lunch, have you?"

Trust a mom to stuff us fill of food the second she decides we are okay. She was a regular Mrs. Weasley.

But, before either of us could answer, Warren's stomach emitted a loud growl, begging for food.

"That's what I thought." She nodded and led us both to the kitchen. "Oh, and dear, Bruce has insisted, since your father is still out there, we stay here for tonight and wait until the morning to go home." Warren nodded and opened a door that opened into hall that led to the kitchens.

On the way there, I linked my icy hand with Warren's searing one and discreetly whispered, "Someone really knows how to play the 'Son card'."

Warren gave a deep chuckle that made me shiver the way it resounded in his chest and kissed me soundly on the cheek. "It's my ace in the hole.

"Your terrible." We sat down together at the table, Mrs. Peace putting two plates in front of us. She whispered something to Al and the left the room quietly, looking back at us smiling. Dude, they are officially awesome. Alone time, at last. Now, as long as Bruce or Grayson didn't come barging in, it would be great.

"I know, but you know you love that about me." He smirked, smiling with his dark eyes.

"You sound so confident." I said in a joking scold, "You never know, that may be the one thing that just makes me click."

Without missing a beat, he responded. "I like to see you angry." My eyebrow went up. Oh, really? He flashed his dazzling smile and pecked my lips, "You look damn sexy when you're mad."

"Oh, really, so earlier today, you were just really enjoying it, weren't you?" I asked, knowing the real answer. Truthfully, I think earlier he was afraid I would kill myself trying to get away from him. His grin faltered as a shadow passed over his face, but he quickly put it back on.

"Not one bit." He said honestly, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth. "You scared the Hell out of me."

"Good, that's the reaction I was hoping for." I beamed, taking a bite of the delicious food.

"You wanted me to have a heart attack when I heard how fast you were going?" He asked disbelievingly, his voice rising an octave as he tried to swallow his food.

"I told you earlier, I have great senses when I drive using my powers." I reminded him, absently flicking the onions off the plate. Onions are so gross. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

"What do you mean? You can't project ice or water when you are driving." Warren asked, confused on what I was implying.

"But I can feel it." I said. Warren's brow scrunched as he tried to understand what I was saying. I glanced behind him. "Don't turn around and tell me, is that stove burner turned on?"

Warren paused, seemed to think about it, then shook his head. "I don't think so."

I nodded. It was turned off. "How did you know?"

"I couldn't feel the heat." He responded, seeming to grip the edge of what I was talking about. We got a smarty, people!

"Exactly." I confirmed and went on explaining," But, it's easier for me. Water is in everything. Air. People. Even cars. And all of them feel different, too. Cars aren't exactly waterlogged, so, I can feel the spots inside them, like in the engine and stuff. Plus, the air acts as a blanket of sorts. It forms around the cars and moves the water molecules and stuff around it, making a weird picture of sorts in my mind. People are the easiest to feel. We are completely saturated. Like right now. Your heart is beating like this- thump...thump...thump."

At that point, I grinned quite evilly and leaned across the table. I could feel his heart quicken as I got closer, finally planting a hungry kiss on his lips. I'm really glad we had both put our food down a long time ago, or that would have been gross. But, I did get the desired effect out of him.

"And, now, it's beating like this-Thump.Thump.Thump." I told him after I pulled away and sat back down.

"You can feel my blood?" He asked disbelievingly.

"The water in it, yeah. And the water in your skin. And the water molecules in the air when it moves to and from your chest as you breath." I nodded, laughing at the way he was staring at me.

"That...is really cool." He said excitedly, picking up his fork again.

"And really terrible." I responded sadly, pushing my food around my plate.

"Why?" Warren asked, stabbing a noodle on my plate with his fork and eating it.

"Think." I told him. "If I can feel the water in your blood, what stops me from taking it out the way I do with the air all the time?"

He gasped and gaped at me with wide eyes. "You mean you could..."

"Kill someone?" I finished for him when he trailed off, not wanting to accuse me of that. "Easily."

After a few minutes of awkward silence, he bit is lip and said. "Show me."

"What?" I choked, shocked at his request. He wanted me to kill something?

"Not anything with a heart." He rushed, seeing that it upset me. "Take it out of a piece of pasta or something."

I glanced down at a piece that had fell halfway between both our plates when Warren had stolen my food. With a surge of power, I watched it not only dry-out before our eyes, but crumble to dust.

"Whoa." Warren muttered, staring incredulously at the small pile of dust sitting between us.

"Yeah. You see why I freak out so much when I freeze whole buildings? Imagine if I did that instead." It would suck. Majorly suck. That's what it would do.

"You can always do this?"

"It is actually a turn off, turn on kind of thing. Most of the time, I don't even think about it. But when I drive, it's easier for me to feel the scene as well as see it. And, I don't want to use it too much in case I overreact to something and 'poof' there goes everything." I explained.

"And how did you figure all this out?" Warren asked, already cringing for the worst answer.

I smiled, "It wasn't a worse case scenario, thank goodness. It could have been a lot worse. I was visiting Bruce in Gotham when I was about five or six and some boys were playing on the sidewalk with a water balloon. Bruce and I passed them and, still looking ahead of me, I said 'Bruce, dunk.' And over his head sailed that water balloon. Bruce couldn't figure out how I knew it was coming when I didn't look and wasn't paying attention. We sat down and ate at a cafe outside, the one we ate lunch at actually, and he would ask me to tell me if it was a car, truck, or van coming up behind me. I got it right every time. Then, he asked me to take the water out of the rose on the table and it just crumbled to dust. And that was that."

"That's insane." Warren shook his head, scooping up the last of the food on his plate.

I flicked a piece of pasta at him and laughed, "I think it is perfectly sane since my other talents include freezing entire structures in a moments frustration and being exceedingly beautiful."

"That you defiantly are." He agreed, thumping the little bow-tie pasta back at me.

With a wet _thump,_ it hit me in the forehead. "Hey!"

"Sorry." He didn't sound very sorry at all. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," I said, scooting my nearly empty plate away from me.

"I am assuming, being a billionaire and all, Bruce probably has a very nice DVD collection?" Warren asked, grabbing both our plates. He never got away from his job, did he? Always a bus boy. Well, everyone knows that their is at least on hot bus boy at every restaurant. Lucky me that my boyfriend was one. And on top of that, he was sometimes a cook, too. So, ladies, be jealous, I have a guy that can clean _and _cook! Ha!

"Yes, you could say that." Having every good movie ever made is in the nice range, right? I think so. Warren placed the dishes in the sink with the others that Al hadn't got to yet.

"Want to watch a movie then?" He asked, pulling me to him and kissing me lightly on the lips.

"Yeah, come on, they are in the second living room." I kissed him back and grabbed his hand, pulling his through the house.

"Second? Should've known." Warren said, sitting down while I picked out a movie from the huge shelve on the wall.

"Hmmm...how about The Cutting Edge?" I asked, grabbing the case from the shelve. I turned back to my boyfriend, who was stretching his tall frame out on the black leather couch. Oh, my man is so nice to look at.

"Sure. I don't really plan on watching it anyway." He smiled at me devishly, smirking with his eyes, and wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

I rolled my eyes and popped in the movie, pressing play. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Late." He shrugged, pulling me down on the couch beside him and planting a kiss on my lips.

"Fine. Only because you are so convincing." I grinned against his mouth.

Did I mention my boyfriend is a wonderful kisser? Well, he is. A really, really wonderful kisser. And everytime my lips touch his it's like we have never kissed before.

After a while however, I was so tired that I was nearly missing his gorgeous lips. To my utter embarrassment, he pulled back with a chuckle that rumbled in his chest, "Time for sleep."

"Love to." I agreed, sagging against his chest, detangling my fingers from his hair and wrapping them around his neck. "Goodnight."

"You plan on sleeping here!" Warren asked, voice raising an octave or two.

"Quiet, I'm sleeping!"

"What if Mr. Wayne comes through and sees us?" He whispered urgently, voice lowering at the glare I gave him.

"Well, he does have eyes. So, I suppose it, seeing as it is his house, that he might very well do that." I replied sarcastically, snuggling closer to his flaming hot chest. His arms lay dormant at his sides. Gosh, was Bruce really that scary? "Look, if he finds us, it will look like we fell asleep watching the movie. Okay."

"Fine." Warren said, giving a wary glance at the door.

"It is." I said, taking his arm and placing it around my waist. Thankfully, he got the idea and followed by doing the same with the other.

Soon, the only thing to be heard was the low murmur of the movie characters fighting and the slow, steady rhythm of Warren's heart. The lull of it was putting me to sleep, when Warren let out a sigh that rushed a scorching air over my cheek. The feel of his breath against my cheek made me shiver.

"Are you cold?" I heard Warren asked in his deep, rumbling voice.

Am I cold?

Am I, an ice girl, cold?

Always, I get used to it.

But, tonight was I cold?

Was I cold laying against my own personal furnace who had his arms wrapped tightly around me?

Uh...NO!

"I'm fine, Hotshot, just go to sleep." Kissing his cheek, I settled back down on his hard, muscled chest and let his heartbeat lull me into a calming sleep. Right before I drifted off, I realized for the first time in a really long time, we had had a night completely alone with no interuptions. Aww, bliss.

* * *

"Well, hel-_lo_ gorgeous." Dick drawled, taking my hand and kissing it like a gentleman after I desended the grand staircase in my full gala regala. I looked like a waterfall. Seriously.

Icy, satin blue flowed down my body in the form of a clingy formal dress, gathering in a diamond loop at my chest and swooping around my neck in a halter. It was some expensive number that Bruce had delivered that morning. He had also taken the liberty of sending me to the hair salon to have my silvery locks swept up in piles of curls on the top of my head while a make-up artist plastered me with foundation and eyeshadow.

Ending result:

Me apparently looking 'gorgeous'. Personally, I was waiting for the fish to start falling out of my hair. But, maybe I didn't look as much like Niagra as I thought if Grayson actually spared a compliment.

"Let's just get this over with." I groaned, linking my arm with his and waltzing out the door.

"Can't wait 'til that mood crashes with Bruce's date." Dick laughed, helping me into the limo that Al had parked in front of the house.

"What does he have hanging on his rich ass today?" I grumbled. I haven't met a catch of Bruce's that I liked yet. And there had been plenty, believe, you, me.

"Italian heiress." Perfect. Just perfect. They were always the worst.

"Just shoot me now, spare me the torture of sitting with another one of _those_ for an hour while we spar with small talk and force down too much cavier." I groaned, I knew this was going to be a bad night. I just had a feeling when I woke up this morning (where I was still on the couch in Warren's arms) and had Layla calling about the fact that we are going back to school on monday. Just lovely, huh? Yeah, we are all going to be submitted to the wrath of fifteen supervillians. And I then, I get to say 'I told you so'.

"It won't be that bad." Grayson tried to reason as we drove through Gotham. "Like I said, Gavin will be there. You two will probably end up causing some catastrophe that will be the talk of the town for weeks."

"We aren't children anymore, Grayson." I growled. How, dare he accuse me of that.

"That was you excuse?" Grayson smirked. "Funny, I always thought it was because you two were just conspiring to make everyone's night as miserable as possible."

"We never made _everyone _miserable." I countered, inspecting a manicured nail. Yeah, Bruce sent me there, too. "I know for a fact that Bruce found every single one of our little 'mishaps'. And you can't say you didn't enjoy 'Snaklings in Wine Glasses'."

Have I ever mentioned that Gavin and I were partners in crime? Just a few simple pranks of course.

"I have to say that one was enjoyable. I never knew Mrs. Charleston could scream so loud." Dick remembered, wincing at the thought. Al stopped the car in the line of limos that were sitting in front of the large hotel that the gala was being held in.

"Here we go Master Grayson, Miss Brookes. Hope you have a truly enjoyable evening." Al smiled, a small amount of sarcasm sneaking into his tone on the well wishing.

"I heard that Al." I called him out on it.

Alfred gave me a innocent look, "What's that, Miss Brookes?"

"Goodnight, Al." I shook my head, grinning widely, as I linked arms with Dick and let him whisk me into the ballroom. It was alive with Gotham's er-finest, if you could call them that. Only probably a handful were actually legit in all of their dealings. Bruce detracted himself from the crowd, along with a dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty that I deduced to be the Italian heiress that Dick mentioned.

"Elle, simply lovely" He greeted me as if he hadn't seen me in ages unstead of a few hours, taking my hand and kissing it as Grayson had done. This was Bruce Wayne, the Playboy Billionaire. He shook Dick's hand and then turned to the lady at his side, "This is Allegra Massonelli, heiress to her father's shipping lines. Allegra, my wards, Dick Grayson, and the beautiful Elle Brookes."

Allegra gave me a snide look, "Nice to meet you." She greeted in a heavy accent, holding a lofty hand to Dick, who begrudgingly brushed his lips across it.

"Allegra, love, why don't you go back to our table and sit with the Mayor's wife, I'm sure you are getting tired of all this standing and talking pleasentries." Bruce suggested in his arrogant voice. "Mr. Grayson, why don't you escort her, it would be unseemly for her to go alone."

"Love to," Dick grimaced, whispering a harsh, 'you owe me.' to Bruce as he passed, taking the heiress' arm.

"Allegra? Having trouble with your allergies, Bruce?" I asked, trying not to laugh aloud as he scrunched his nose in distaste as his date strode away with Grayson.

"The only thing I am allergic to is arragance. And she has plenty of it." Bruce sighed in a tired voice, "I will _celebrate _the day Alfred lets me call in sick to one of these things."

"If your dates name was 'Diana', you wouldn't have a problem with coming." I told him under my breath, suggesting the same thing I had been since I figured out the whole love thing.

"Diana doesn't belong here, Elle." Bruce said in an exasperated voice.

"Doesn't belong? That is the most conseded thing I have ever heard you say." I accussed, shocked at what had just spilled out of his mouth. "She's a Princess."

"Exactly. She's better than these people. She would rise above and beyond them in more ways than status." He continued, clearing up the statement, a certain tone coming into this voice unvolintarily as he spoke about her.

"Somebody's in looovvve." I drawled happily, smirking at my gaurdian.

"Somebody needs to shut their mouth before the media hears her." Bruce countered, taking a glass of wine from a serving tray as it passed.

Yeah, try to play it cool Bruce, I know your secret. And I don't mean your little habit of bouncing around Gotham in a big bat suit.

"Was there a particular reason you sent Grayson and that woman away, or did you just want to see him suffer?" I asked, glancing over at the table, where Dick was unhappily sitting near Allegra.

Bruce gave a nod and finished downing the glass, "Gavin is here somewhere, he was looking for you earlier. I absolutely forbid you to put any foreign matter in anything that might touch the mouths of these guests. Though, I wouldn't mind a little laugh around third course."

Peels of laughter unwillingly fell out of my mouth, "Yes, sir."

"Elle! There you are." A male voice came from behind me. The topic of our conversation himself swaggered toward me. Tonight, he was dressed in the customary suit and little black bowtie, his blond hair slicked back with gel, opening up his face, which was dominated by his vibrant green eyes.

"You look like a penguin." I remarked with a smirk. He was a cameleon. He looked just as comfortable here with all the formality as he did at the club.

Gavin gave a smug smile and rocked back and forth on his heels, "A sexy penguin."

"See you are still well over-do for a ego-bashing." I remarked, taking the arm he offered and walked around the room with him.

"Well, at least I admit it." He argued, steering me toward the table where Bruce, his father and mother, Grayson, and Allegra were already sitting. "Here you are, looking like some kind of siren, leaving men drooling behind you, and you probably think you look like a waterspout or something."

"Waterfall, I look like a waterfall." I corrected. Gavin rolled his eyes exasperantly. "Bruce said you were looking for me earlier, what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, I got to tell you something." He said exitedly as he pulled the chair out at the table for me.

"No way!" I exclaimed in a quiet, very sarcastic voice. Gavin rolled his eyes again and glanced to make sure no one was listening.

Leaning close, he whispered, "I was looking through my dad's papers the other day; They were from his files that track the underground of Gotham. Anyway, I found this one sheet that talked about three men and a lady asking for a big shipment of C-4. It said the order would have enough power to blow a city block sky high. Or...a school?"

I stared at him wide eyed in shock, "How did they describe the four people?"

"One man had blonde hair, one with dark hair, the other had a hooded sweatshirt, and the woman had mahagony-colored hair. All of them had powers." Gavin said darkly.

Something sparked in my head. "That's why they robbed the bank."

"What?" Gavin asked not following my line of thought.

"Yesterday, they robbed a bank, taking a boatload of money. They needed it for the explosives." I told him, surprised he didn't know.

"That was the same guys? Are you sure?" Gavin asked. Uh, yeah, would I say it if I didn't know it was true?

"I was there." I informed him. His eyes bugged out.

"That was that guy you like in the alley, wasn't it?" I nodded grimly, not really wanting to remember that little adventure.

"Did they get anything else about the order? Like what the people had planned?" I asked. I kinda needed to know this kind of thing. It might help us know how many days the school had left.

"No." He frowned, but then he continued. "But, this guy they ordered from. He asks questions. Big questions. He makes sure anything he gives them will not affect any of his other businesses. Wouldn't want to dish out the explosives that destroy your own company, would you? He would know exactly what they have planned."

"What's his name."

Gavin leaned closer, lowering his voice even more, "They call him 'Basher'."

"Well, me and the Bash are about to have a little chit-chat." I remarked quietly, tucking into the salad that was presented to me by a servor.

Gavin choked on the lettuce in his mouth. The coughing made everyone turn sharply in our direction, and gained him some odd looks from his family. "Sorry, I'm okay." He told them, taking a large gulp of water. The others shrugged and fell back into their conversations. Once he composed himself and made sure no one was paying us the slightest bit of attention, he leaned in and whispered in a panicked voice, "Are you _crazy_?"

"Well, are your dad's people going to be willing to help with this guy?" Yeah, doubt I could convince them to do anything without a hefty pay.

"No, but-" Gavin was going to try and reason with me. Didn't he know that was pointless by now?

"Gavin, this is really important. I have to get some information about this or the whole school is going to be orbiting Saturn." I told him, a slight plea in my voice.

"I assume you have some sort of plan already?" He asked, knowing there was no point in arguing anymore.

"Gears are grinding as we speak." I affirmed.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? I know the last half didn't really deal with Sky High characters, I'm sorry. But, please review, I love those things, they just make my day. Thanks for reading.**


	18. Operation: Bribe the Bash

**A/N: Ok, can you please not throw that rotten tomato you are holding at me? I am really sorry that this chapter took so long...on top of re-writing it three or four times, I have not time to write...school has started again and it is keeping me on my toes. So, here is the next chapter (obviously). Enjoy!**

* * *

I gunned the engine of the Ferrari, a loan from Bruce with the promise I would return it by Thanksgiving. I was running a little short on time. It was 7:35 and the bus got to Layla's stop at 7:43 on the dot. Did I mention I was still more than 20 miles away? Well, I was.

It was all Al's fault I was running late. He hadn't woken me up on time.

Well, that was a lie. He woke me up on time...I just didn't get up.

See, after the gala, I had had a bit of a late night.

The interview with the Basher would be a touchy operation, so I had spent a large amount of time (say four or five hours after I returned from the gala at 11:00. Plus, I had to take a little break from planning to talk to Warren, who had gone back to Maxville with his mother the morning before) trying to work out some of the finer details. There was a silver backpack thrown carelessly in my passenger's seat that was stuffed full of supplies. It was the biggest thing I could weasel past Bruce's watchful eye without him questioning me about it. A duffel bag would have sent up the red flags, you see. He knew me too well. My plan was to tell the others what I had found out and what I had worked out after school.

The thought school and the fact that I couldn't be late made me press the gas harder. My wonderful NASCAR worthy driving had me screeching into Layla's drive about the time the bus came bumbling down the road. Am I good? Oh, yeah, I'm good!

Jerking the backpack out of the seat, I slung it over my shoulder and sprinted to the bus stop, where Warren, Will, and Layla were waiting. Shaking his head and smirking at my last minute arrival, Warren wrapped and arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"Hey, Elle, Richard Petty called, he wants his driving back." Will joked, laughing instantly at his own words before anyone had a chance to even smile. His arm was wrapped in a bandages and held up in a sling.

I snorted, "Richard Petty _wishes_ he could drive like that. How's the arm?"

"Looking like a dog's chew toy." Will grinned, his eyes darting around wildly.

"And you are still on some major med's aren't you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I am." Will drawled happily, bouncing on his toes.

"Layla, you better tie him down before he starts floating." I advised the red-head. She could only sigh and shake her head, steering her boyfriend toward the bus that had just stopped in front of us. Will flashed a goofy smile, bounded up the bus steps.

When we arrived at Sky High, the changes were hard to miss.

For one, there was a real, solid gym and not a pile of charred remains like there should have been. They had rebuilt the entire structure in less than a week! Impressive!

The armed guard stomping around the campus and walking up and down the hallways were a little hard not to see, as well. They were muscled men in black uniforms that had a lot of pockets and each was holding a gun.

Yeah...I said gun.

Was that even legal?

Apparently at my crazy, floating, superhero high school, it was.

Principal Powers voice said through the PA system.

**"ALL STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE AUDITORIUM IMMEDIATELY."**

"Do we get to pass 'Go'?" Will asked with a loud guffaw. Who would've thought Will could have such a...er..._funny _sense of humor? Of course, no one probably tried doping him up on high-powered pain killers.

"Come on, funny boy." Layla rolled her eyes, pulling her boyfriend down the hall. I took my seat between Magenta and Warren and started talking with the former about random things until Principal Powers 'cometed' to the podium and silenced us all with one stern gaze around the room.

"Welcome back," She said in a very un-welcome voice. "I know it was difficult for you to return today, but it really is for your best. You have probably noticed the guards posted around the school. They are for your protection, do not try their patience for they have the power to put you in detention for weeks on end. And yes, I did grant them that power if the situation is severe enough for them to intervene."

She continued to go over new rules and regulations, safety tips, and such until the night caught up with me and I snuggled up against Warren, who was not paying the least bit of attention and reading a book, and drifted into unconsciousness.

The rest of the day was just about as exciting at that thrilling meeting. Really. I'm not lying. We couldn't exactly start anything new because we were going to be out for the next five days and had already been out too many days to pick up were we had left off and make any head-way on it. The majority of our teachers just let us talk amongst ourselves. There were a few ambitious ones that tried to get us to do work. That was a hoot. Did they really expect us to do something on the student-proclaimed free days? Cause that was what those two days were. Well, to a certain degree. We could do absolutely nothing outside of class without an escort, a.k.a. one of those armed guards.

Time just dragged on and on, moving from class to class, the majority of the time, I was found sleeping in the crook of Warren's arm while he read his book. At last, the final bell rang, releasing us from out own little prison of sorts. It kind of started to feel like that after a while. I think it was the guards that created the atmosphere, but I could never really be sure, you know.

"We made it." Warren muttered in a relieved voice once we landed in Maxville and started toward Layla's house.

I gave him a weird look and asked, "Did you ever doubt we would?"

"Truthfully?" He asked seriously. I nodded for him to tell me. "I really was hoping you would miss the bus this morning so that you wouldn't be at the school."

I am pretty sure my jaw was in my lap, "What?"

"I just wanted to keep you safe. I was praying you wouldn't be blasted into pieces the entire day." He confessed in a low whisper so that no one else would hear but me. I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. He wasn't even mentioning himself or his friends (though I am sure he feared for their safety as well as his own), but he was just worrying about little old me. It really, kind of made me feel incredibly special.

"You are the sweetest guy I have ever met." I proclaimed, kissing him on his tanned cheek.

"Sweet?" He grimaced, sounding disgusted at the word.

"Yes, sweet. But, you have been working yourself up all day for nothing. There won't be an attack for at least three weeks." I informed him.

Warren's dark eyes snapped to mine, "How do you know that?"

"This is our stop. I'll tell you in the house." I whispered back, pulling my silver backpack out of the seat and following Will, who had, thankfully, fallen off his medication high, Layla, Magenta, Zach, and a depressed Ethan, all of whom I had told to come over to Layla's house after school so that I could tell them something.

"How was you're first day back, dears?" Mrs. Williams asked when we entered. The smell of chocolate chip cookies drifted seductively toward us from the kitchen. Each of us grabbed a few, then headed up to my room. Warren took a seat at the vanity and I perched myself on his lap. Will, having just taken different pill from earlier, stretched across the coverlet on my bed and drowsily rested his head against Layla's leg when she sat down beside him. Magenta and Zach sat on the floor at the foot of my bed and Ethan sat on the sill of the window.

"So," I began, standing up and looking at everyone. "Gavin did a little snooping and found out something that just might be of some help to us."

Everyone's ears perked up like little dog's.

"A man named Basher sold enough C-4 to completely annihilate a city block to three men and a woman." Eyebrows disappeared into hairlines throughout the room. "They all had superpowers."

"You mean it really was them?" Zach asked, draping an arm around Magenta. "For sure?"

"Well, it sounded a hell of a lot like them if it wasn't." I responded with very, very little sarcasm. I promise, it would probably only hit a 2 on the Sarcasm Scale.

"So, that's why they robbed the bank? To get money to pay for the explosives?" Layla concluded, running her fingers though Will's hair. He was officially non-respondive and snoring loudly.

I nodded, "That's what I could come up with. There is one good thing about the guy they got them from though: The Basher checks his people out. He apparently owns quite a few legit businesses and doesn't want anyone blowing them up, so he finds out everything about what they are doing."

"And you would just expect him to tell you all of this because..." Magenta questioned incredulously.

I lifted my silver backpack up and unzipped it, "Because of this."

The contents spilled onto the floor when I turned it upside down. 'Tough' themed clothing, colored contacts, a large stage make-up kit, three girls wigs, and nearly three-quarters of a million dollars broken up in to five-hundred dollar increments with rubber bands.

"Holy Crap!" Zach exclaimed, kneeling in front of the pile.

"Elle...where did you get all of this?" Layla asked, joining Zach on the floor beside the pile, eyes wide with astonishment. Will stirred on the bed and blinked sleepily, looking over Layla's shoulder to see what they were looking at.

"Is that an incredibly large sum of cash lying in the middle of the floor?" Will asked in a drowsy voice, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh...yeah, I think it is." Warren answered, looking down at it from his seat in the chair. He scrunched his brow and raised an eyebrow at the cash. "Ok, so, right now I am really hoping my girlfriend isn't doesn't deal drugs on the side."

"And right now I am thinking that might just be the case." Layla told him, looking up at me expectantly, "Where did you get this?"

"That," I said pointing down at the money, "Is about five months worth of my allowance."

"WHAT!" Everyone yelled in shock.

Ethan finally spoke, jumping up off the sill and coming over to us," Did you just say _five_ _months_? As in 152 days? As in 3,652 hours? As in 219,145 minutes? As in-"

"Yeah, five months." I cut him off. We didn't need to know how many nanoseconds there were in the average five months. We just didn't. Everyone's eyes were about the size of dinner plates. "Oh, come on guys, my guardian has a lot of money to dish out on allowance."

Will nodded dumbly, still staring wide-eyed at the money.

"So, you are planning on paying him off? Will that work?" Layla wondered.

"I sure as hell hope so." I expressed, squatting down to pick up the money and stuffing it in the bag along with the other stuff I dropped out of it.

"So, what is the exact plan?" Magenta asked warily, handing me a stack of bills that I dropped.

Leaning against the vanity table, I took a deep breath and began, "He habits this club called The Rock, back room, right corner. My plan is to take a small group, including Gavin, to this club, pay him off to find out who, when, and where type things, then get the hell out of there."

"Sounds short, sweet, and to the point." Layla approved.

"Ha, I wish." I scoffed, "There will be a lot of tact involved. If we say one thing wrong, it could all blow up in our face. We will have to be very careful."

"Ok, so, who is going to be part of this small group?" Zach asked in an almost frightened voice. Was someone scared of night clubs or what?

"Well, I was thinking six people. That would be four others besides Gavin and me."

"Three beside You, Gavin, and me, you mean." Warren corrected, then continued earnestly, "I'm not letting you go alone."

"Right," I said, giving him a grateful look. It helped to know he was coming with me. "I was thinking we split the group with three girls and three boys. That way we would just look like couples hanging out to blend in if we had too."

"I will go." Magenta told me.

"Me to." Zach piped in once he realized Magenta was going.

"No." His girlfriend shot him down.

"What! Why?" Zach exclaimed, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Zach, I love you, but you register a zero on the scary scale. We need tough guys for this." Magenta said curtly, but placing a loving hand on Zach cheek and sparing him a small smile before whispering, "I'll be okay." Zach nodded sadly.

"I guess that leaves me to be the third girl, so I'll go too. It will be fun." Layla volunteered.

"Will, I know you want to go," I told the boy, who had opened his mouth to agreed to go as well. "But with your arm bandaged, you will be too easy to remember. We are going to be in disguises, but a sling will be a sling and if we have to us our powers, it will be easy to trace us with something like that."

"We need another guy though." Magenta reminded me.

"I think I will call Gavin. We just need someone who look like they can throw some muscle around. We'll just have to be careful about using our powers." I decided, looking for affirmation in their looks. Everyone gave me a small nod.

"So, when are you going to do this?" Warren asked looking up at me from his seat.

"That is the part I haven't exactly figured out yet." I confessed. "The order won't be in for at least three weeks."

"We have some time then? That's good." Magenta thought aloud.

"Yeah, but I would rather do this sooner rather than later." I told her. "It makes me antsy to by waiting around."

Everyone gave a small nod, agreeing with me.

"Is everyone staying for dinner?" Layla's mother called from downstairs. "It's portabella mushroom tortellini and I have plenty to go around."

Zach's stomach growled expressively, "Layla, you mom is so awesome" He told her, then loudly yelled. "I would love to stay, Mrs. Williams."

"Well, I knew that, dear. What about everyone else?" The other three affirmed their pleasure to stay and eat her wonderful cooking. "Well, it will be ready in about ten minutes. Could one of you come help me set the table?"

The seven of us all started to the door, making us glance around at each other with a giggle.

"Last one to the kitchen loads the dishwasher!" I called, racing down the stairs and skidding into the living room, only to be overtaken by Zach a step from the kitchen door. Layla, Magenta, and Ethan came flying in after me with Will on their heels. I looked around for Warren. He was coming in a slightly more dignified jog down the steps. I waited until he stepped in the kitchen (because if I went to him and he rushed into the kitchen before me, I would then be the last to enter the door and have the job of dirty dish washer loader) before I gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "You just couldn't stoop to running, could you?"

He smirked and pecked my lips, keeping his hands on my back, holding me to him, "Then I would totally lose the 'badass' persona that I have worked so hard to attain."

"Badass, huh?" I smirked as I looked up at him, placing my palms flat against his chest and feeling his blazing heart beat under my touch. "You don't fool me."

"Oh, really?" He asked disbelievingly, raising a dark eyebrow.

"Yes." I told him with a nod, "I can see right though that facade and right down into your big teddy bear heart."

His brow scrunched together, "Teddy bear?" He asked incredulously. "I have the heart of a teddy bear?"

I tilting my head to the side, appearing to think about it, "How about a cuddly dragon, one that looks mean and breathes fire?"

His face broke out into a dazzling, white smile shined in his eyes, "That sounds more like it." He said as he placed a tender kiss on my forehead, hands lighting on my upper arms.

"Elle! Can you get the ice? We need it for the drinks." Layla called from the dining room. Warren let go of me regretfully.

"I am the ice!" I called to her, laughing.

"Well, just get your butt in here and stop trying to suck in your boyfriend's face." She responded with a smile in her voice.

"Fine, I'm coming." I gave in, opening the refrigerator door and pulling out the ice with my powers, letting them float though the air beside me as I walked into the dining room.

"I am never going to get used to stuff like that." Zach murmured, looking at the cubes beside my head as I placed a few in each glass.

"Imagine when I do it around Al." I remarked, grinning at the thought. "He nearly has a heart attack every time I do stuff like this in front of him. Says it's 'unseemly'."

"Really, imagine that. Someone comes in with ice floating around their head and it's classified as 'unseemly'. That sounds perfectly normal to me." Magenta drawled. I stuck my tongue out at her.

Thanksgiving was rather uneventful. We ate an all vegetable lunch at Layla's. That really threw me off. Who went though Thanksgiving without touching a turkey? Thankfully, Mrs. Stronghold saved me and invited me to have dinner with them, Warren, and his mom. And that was about it for Thanksgiving.

Oh, wait... How could I forget?

We made a little side trip to Gotham when I returned the Ferrari.

Just a little one.

To a club that just happen to have this guy who called himself the Basher sitting in the back room, right corner. It was just something we threw together really.

Yes, Operation: Bribe the Bash was go!

This is how it went.

I got a phone call from Bruce, who wanted to make sure I hadn't wrecked his car and requested that I bring it back before I _did_. Did he not realize I was a lovely driver...even if I did tend to drive like a Cullen. Anyway, Magenta got her mom's car and Layla rode with her while Warren rode with me to Gotham. Are cover was that Magenta was coming to pick me up when I dropped the car off and Layla and Warren just wanted to go. A little generic, but they bought it. The backpack wasn't hard to get by them, they weren't as suspicious as Bruce. We called Gavin to give him a heads up on the way there, but there was not time for him to get a third guy like we had planned.

It was nearly ten when we got to Gotham, just the time when the nightlife was starting wake up. We swung by Gavin's penthouse and got ready in his incredibly large bathroom. That was probably the best part of the whole evening. We were all giddy with nerves and Layla, Magenta, and I regularly broke out into fits of giggles causing Gavin and Warren to roll their eyes. It was Layla's nose job that had us doubling over in laughter. It was long and pointed, like an Amy March clothes pin experiment gone wrong.

"What?" Layla asked in a voice riddled with mirth, "Are you saying there is a problem with my dainty little nose?"

"No, Pinocchio, nothing is wrong with that honker." I told her, snickering behind my hand.

"Alright, your turn. Let's see what we can whip up for you." Magenta giggled.

"Magenta, she better still look cute when you get through with her." Warren spoke up from his chair in the corner next to Gavin.

"Warren Peace!" I exclaimed loudly, putting my hands on my hips. "Are you suggesting that I could ever be anything but cute?"

"Not at all." He said with a wide smile and warm, joking eyes. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Magenta, who forced me into a chair and attacked me with an applicator brush. She wouldn't give me any cool facial features. Poo on her. She said I would look better if I just stuck to the short black wig cut in a short, edgy bob with bangs and my dark contacts.

"Okay, Magenta, your turn." Layla announced when my black wig was firmly in place. "Elle, you work on Warren, then we'll fix Gavin up."

Warren adamantly refused to move from his seat to let me put any type of the theatre make-up on. So, I sat myself down in his lap with all the tool I needed and went to work on a really cool scar that ran the lenth of the right side of his face. He looked tough. The problem we ran into were the red streaks in his hair.

"No."

"Come on, you can put them back in in the morning."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Elle." He growled testily.

"I'll give you a million kisses." I bargained. Gosh, it was just his hair.

"I could get those anyway." He reminded me. Oh, yeah, he could, couldn't he?

"You could be putting us all in danger if you are recognized." Something clicked behind his eyes. Putting someone in danger was what freaked him out the most and I knew that. Hey, girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

"Fine." He grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest with a surly look on his face.

"I knew you'd see it my way." I said happily, grapping the black hair stain from the stage make-up kit. No one would ever see that it was too dark for his actual hair, it was going to be pulled back in a ponytail. We just couldn't let them see the red.

Not twenty minutes later, we were on our way in our black clothing. My friend were barely recognizable. I'm sure I looked a bit strange to them as well. Layla was wearing a blond wig, because it at least matched her eyebrows slightly, now had blue eyes. Magenta's changes were subtle. We had put a black wig on her as well so that she would not have to re-dye her hair purple and hid her face behind uncharacteristic make-up that made her look about five years older. I imagine my disguise did about the same thing. Warren, of course, had all black hair and a nasty looking scar that obsured his face. Gavin had bleach blonde hair that he said he planned to crop off the next morning anyway and a fake tattoo of a dragon that shown brightly on his shoulder.

We weren't stupid enough to go riding up to the club in Magenta's mom's car. No, we took the metro and then walked to the club. It was dangerous to do this at night, but we _were_ superheros...well, four out of five...still, it greatly out numbered anyone who was not.

The whole entering the club thing was what I was worried about. Gavin had scouted it out for us, so we knew where everything was and had gone over it after we got our disguises on. There was a back entrance through the alley that we could sneak into. The whole getting deal with getting caught was a problem then.

Neon lights lite shown brightly on the street, lighting up the sky above as we walked down the crowded sidewalk. Suddenly, The Rock loomed over us, a long line of people waiting at the entrance. I adjusted the backpack for the fifteenth time and took a deep breath. It was go time. A callous, blazing hand touched my arm.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you." Warren whispered in my ear reassuringly.

I nodded and started toward the dark alley. We found the door, no problem. We found the _locked_ door, no problem. yeah, it was locked. Just our luck.

"Never fear, Gavin is here." He announced with a smirking voice, pulling a small plastic card out of his pocket. To bad that doesn't work too well. He fiddled with the lock, not getting any response from the steadfast lock.

"Move over and let the superheroes do their work." I pushed him aside. Just as I had on Bruce's door when Warren went haywire on the furnishings, I filled the lock with ice and forced it to turn. A loud click came from the knob and we were in.

Smoke filled the air, making it hard to see. The bar ran the length of the far side of the room, full of men and women. Directly across from us, in the middle of the room, were three billiard tables. Beside them was a wooden dance floor accompanied by an empty DJ booth. Both empty and occupied three to four person tables lined the walls on the side of the club we entered. No one was paying the slightest bit of attention to the five of us.

"I think we go that way." I pointed toward a cracked door in the back of the club's main room. Walking confidently, I pushed my way through the crowd and pushed carefully on the door.

"Who do you want?" A short, greasy man of around thirty growled.

I looked him up and down, sizing him up, before I answered, "Basher."

The man chuckled darkly and led us into the room, toward the far right corner.

Right about here was where the nerves hit me. What the Hell was I doin'? I had to be crazy!

A short man in a dark leather jacket sat at the table, arms slung over two scantily clad young women. On his thick, sausage-like fingers, large, gaudy gold rings gleamed in the dim light. A sneer shown on his face as we approached.

"Thought more of you would be coming before long. Are you going to try to blow my head off too?" He growled, withdrawing his arms from the girls and leaning forward against the table on his elbows. His eyes were dark, dark brown, nearly black and his face was weathered and pock-marked.

"What?" I asked, my eyes narrowing suspiciously at the man. He gestured for at the chair across from him and I fell into it heavily. Layla and Magenta took a seat beside me and the heat on my back told me Warren was standing strong as a bulwark behind me.

"Did you not think I would recognize the boy?" He asked, an eyebrow raising as his sneer turned to an evil smirk.

At first I thought 'Oh, crap, he recognized Gavin'.

But then I realized where he was looking.

Not by Layla, where Gavin was standing, but right behind me, where the son of Baron Battle was firmly planted.

My eyes narrowed again. He already knew.

A rough laugh came from the man when he saw the realization in my eyes. "You can't hide family resemblance, miss. Though, that scar is a fantastic piece of work."

"Alright. So, you know who he is." I remarked, "I'm not stupid, I know you get the dirt on the people you deal with."

"You know quite a bit more than most then. Why bring that up?" He asked, taking his turn to narrow his dark eyes.

"I want it." I told him, a lazy smile crawling onto my face. I had practiced this face many a time. It gave me a look balanced with utter confidence and carelessness.

"You...want it?" His own face broke into a malicious grin, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"Yes, I want to know everything about what the superheroes that bought recently a big chunk of C-4 plan to do with it."

"Well, now. That is something isn't it." Basher smiled, "I don't give 'dirt' for free, little girl."

I pulled the backpack off and dove my hand into it, producing two of the bundles-1,000-and placing it on the table in front of him.

"Ladies, could you leave us please?" He said, dismissing the girls at his sides, with a careless wave.

"When?" I asked bluntly. He took the bundles and fanned through them, looking at them thoughtfully.

"Sometime in late December." He returned vaguely. I rolled my eyes. Two more bundles came out of the bag.

"Exact date."

"December 24."

My eyes widened. We weren't in school on December 24. We were at...Oh no.

But Theresa had said they were going to take over the school. What the Hell?

I shakily pulled out five more bundles, I wanted a perfectly clear answer. "Where?"

He scooped up the bills and stacked them neatly in a pile in front of him. "See, this is the part that got me the most. Where..."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously, a knot twisting in my stomach. If even he was questioning the location, you know it had to be bad.

"It's an abandoned building. Completely empty." He told me, eyeing the backpack. Greedy little sucker wasn't he?

"Where is it?" I asked exasperatedly, pulling out two more bundles and throwing them on the table.

"What I am wondering is why you want to know?" He asked, eyeing me as if he were searching for something that he could gain from this, and disregarding the bills. Something about that made me realize something had changed. A minute shift that we would have to tread carefully around.

Layla spoke before I could open my mouth. "That is not important."

Oh, crap. You never say that.

That makes it seem obviously important.

"Look, I know the boy is Battle's son. Looks just like him. Bet he has a fire power, too." Basher growled at Layla, a grubby finger swung in my direction. "I want to know why _she_ is asking the questions, and not him."

"What can _we_ gain from telling _you_?" Magenta asked coolly, lifting an interrogative eyebrow, a smirk hiding at the corner of her mouth from matching him at his own game.

"I'll tell you their plan." He bargained. I turned to Gavin, to see what he thought of it. He had worked as a 'spy' of sorts for his father on more than one occasion, he would know if telling Basher our full story would help or hurt us later. He had a wrinkle forming on his forehead. He was worried. That might not be good.

"Ne pas le dire tout." He whispered shortly in French, one of the few phrases I knew. _Don't tell him everything_. I was praying Bash-man didn't know the Language of Love. I nodded and turn back to the man in front of me.

"They are fugitives. We are tracking their movements." Was all I said. It didn't tell him we wanted to stop them or that Warren was after revenge or that it was particularly surprising that Sky High was not the next target. He squinted through the dark, smoky air umbrageously, not trusting that that was the only reasons we wanted to know stuff about them.

"That's all?"

"Until you tell me where they plan to hit, yes." That made him laugh in his throaty chuckle again.

"You're clever, girl. If your superhero business doesn't work out, you could go in to business with your wit alone." He knew I had powers, or was he just guessing? "It's in downtown Maxville. Was an office building until about four years ago when the company shutdown. Now. Tell me what the other reasons are that you want to know."

"I have told you why." I retorted.

"You are a very good liar, girly, but I have been in this business long enough to know when I am being duped." He growled, angered at my silence. The shift I had felt earlier swung again. It was on my side now.

"This is where the tables have turned." I told him, a trimuphant smirk sliding onto my face. "I have nothing more to tell you because you have already told me everything I need to know." Telling us it had been an office building that was abandoned had sealed it for him. We would have had to keep going if he had just said it was abandoned, but now all we had to do was search for the few that could have been offices. Hehe. He was beat.

A flash of fear and realization sparked behind his eyes. He knew I was right. "They'll find out you're here."

"I don't care. They know we are after them already." Well, I figured they did at least. They wanted to take us out. I think that means they thought we were a threat.

A flash movement into his jacket produced a shining silver barrel pointed at my chest. Warren's knuckles popped as he gripped the chair, ready to throw me to the side if Bash should look ready to fire.

"So, this is how you find out so much?" I asked calmly. If he wanted to find anything out, he couldn't shoot me. It just wasn't a smart move for him. "Interesting."

"Start talking. Why do you want to know all of this? Who are you really?" He questioned, tightening his hold on the gun. Yeah, I was really going to tell this guy waving a gun at me that I was Elle Brooks living with Layla Williams in Maxville and I was the ward of billionare Bruce Wayne and that I was an ice girl. That would happen the second I stopped breathing.

"Sir. Waving a little gun at me isn't going to scare me much. I could_ think _and disintegrate you." I whispered in a falsely regretful tone, giving him an apologizing shrug. Fear shown loud on his face. Ohh, that means I'm scary! Yea!

"Mutant!" He accused, dropping the gun on the table. Oh, great. We were going to have an X-Men situation now. Hadn't we already established that we were _super_heroes, and the Escapees were _super_villians? Didn't the SUPER imply that we had SUPER powers? I thought it did.

"No, it's actually hereditary. It's evolution." I informed him absently, scooting my chair away from the table as I zipped up the back pack. "Well, it's been nice, Basher. We should have one of these little rendezvous again. Then again, I would rather not. Don't worry, we know the way out."

"Stop them." He bellowed. Then entire-and yes, I mean the _entire_-room sprang toward us, trapping us in a circle of bodies and the gathered around us.

Grinding my teeth, I turned back toward him. "You really want to do this?"

"I want my information. No one ever tells me 'no'." He growled, still sitting in his chair at the table, gun back in his grubby hand.

"Fine." I said, thinking quickly. Staring him right in the eyes, I said. "We work for an organization that helps the superheroes find out the goings on of supervillians. And this man is not Baron Battles son, he is just disguised to look a hell of a lot like him. The scar, as you said, is not part of one Warren Peace's profile." It was the best lie I had ever made. Delivered to perfection. And the next line told me I had pulled it off.

"So, you lied. You can't disintegrate me?" He asked angrily, thinking he had been indeed 'duped'.

A peel of sinister laughter rolled from my lips. "Oh, no. I can still do that. Wanna see?"

"Get them out of here this minute!" He ordered, pointing at the door that led to the main room of the club.

A man pushed me toward the door. "Hands off." I hissed, glaring at him. He cringed away from me and I noticed no one was touching the others either. Warren was right behind me and the was no one within a fifteen foot radiance of _him. _That might have been because he was ridged with fury, fists clenched, and waves of heat were rippling off of him. I quickly sent out a cool, invisible mist that balanced out the room temperature so that hopefully no one would notice. Warren's powers could absolutly NOT make an apperance after what I had just said.

Gavin nudged him in the back and whispered something harshly in his ear. Warren nodded and locked his jaw, but the heat waves disappeared. The men around us split, making a path straight for the door, apparently our only option of departure. I strutted down the line like it was a runway, head high, smirk lifting the corner of my lips. There was a song thumping the walls of the club, a victory song for the winners. We walked right out the front door, no one would argue anyone leaving a club and broke for the metro, our feet hardly hitting the ground as we flew down the sidewalks of Gotham. On the subway, it was hard not to burst with joy. We had done it! We had got the information.

The second we stepped into Gavin's house, we started shouting and jumping around. Gavin gave Warren a big thump on the back, letting out a howl.

"We're did it!" Layla screeched, bouncing around me in a circle. I nodded, to excited to say anything and turned to Warren. The look on his face told me he was spit-fire mad. Uh, this is Happy Time, Hotshot, get with the program!

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly, slipping into his arms, nuzzling my nose into his muscular chest.

"The nerve of that-that guy...point the...and saying...pushed you...and GRRRR." He growled, spouting out words that I am sure in his head formed a real sentence, but couldn't be considered actual English when he said it that way.

"Don't worry about it Hotshot," I soothed, placing a hand on his cheek and looking into his eyes. "It doesn't matter anymore. We beat him at his own game. We got information we seriously needed."

"He still threatened to kill you." He mused, pulling me closer to him.

"Forget it." I said softly, pulling his face to meet my own. He gave me a light kiss and pressed his forehead to mine, swallowing his anger and nodding in agreement to my order.

"What time is it?" Magenta asked from behind us. I turned my torso to face them. Good question.

Gavin pulled out his phone, "Nearly twelve-thirty."

"Crap! We gotta make like a bread truck and haul buns. Lets go guys." I screeched frantically. Layla, Magenta, and I scrambled for the bathroom, washing off our make-up, peeling off Layla's nose, ditching the wigs and changing clothes in record time. Warren had freed himself of the scar by the time we made it out and we all made for the door, me snatching the keys from Magenta's hand. I could make it there faster than she could. No matter that her mom's car wasn't nearly as powerful as most of the cars I was used to driving. I wrapped an arm around Gavin as I went passed him, "Thanks, Gav."

"No problem. Call me next time you are headed to Gotham." He called after me as I ran out the door, waving behind me.

We turned the corner to Magenta's house an hour and fifteen minutes later, snuck inside her house, because that's where Layla and I were sleeping over tonight.

"I'll be back in a minute, guys." I told the two girls still there. Crawling out the window, two fiery hands latched onto my waist and pulled through.

"Here I thought I might have to walk home without a goodnight kiss." Warren grinned devilishly, pressing me against the side of the house.

"What made you think that? You should know I am too greedy to let that happen." I grinned before locking my mouth to his and tangling my fingers into his hair, pulling out the tie he still had in it.

"Yo, Lovebirds, my mom's coming." Magenta whispered urgently out the window not ten minutes later.

"Goodnight, Hotshot." Planting one last kiss on his perfect lips, I pulled away.

"Goodnight, Elle." He murmured, stealing another kiss and disappearing into the darkness.

"When did you girls get in?" Magenta's mom asked groggily, sticking her head in the door.

"Oh, just a few minutes ago. Gotham traffic, you know." Magenta told her, tossing the keys toward her mom.

"Okay, 'night, girls." She bade, closing the door behind her. The three of us looked at one another in awe. We weren't in trouble.

"Ladies." I smiled, "I believe that we are pretty much the most amazing people alive!"

"Duh, didn't you already know that?" Layla said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. All of us erupted in laughter. My friends rock.

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**A/N: Okay, I need some reviews!! I have set a goal-I want 300 reviews by the time this story is over. Now, I know that 119 of you get a little email telling you that this chapter arrived safe and sound onto the website, it would be nice if you just clicked the same little button and write me a nice little review! Thanks for reading!**


	19. Troubles in LoveyDoveyland

**A/N: READ THIS, IT MAY CLEAR SOME THINGS UP**

**Kay, so, UncloudedDragon brought something to my attention that I thought might be nagging you as well. Thank you, by the way.**

**Here was UncloudedDragon's review:**

**First, I will say, I did warn you. I said that the JL characters would be AU (I meant OOC, but I just got them mixed up, but I still think you can catch my drift).**

**The reason it seems like a lot more people know Batman's identity than usual is because 1. in Sky High, it seemed like everyone knew the heroes secret identities, this may have been because they went to school together, but I just kept it for that sake and 2. You can't raise a kid the way Elle was raised without at least the main people raising her (Bruce, Clark, and Diana) figuring out the others real identities because a child would hear and see the person out of costume and she would refer to him that way to the others and the secret would be blown. So, just to save that messy topic, I have a lot more people knowing who he was. No civilian, other than the usual ones that know, actually know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, just a few Heroes.**

**Then there was the thing about him being emotional. It's Batman that has the hard, enigmatic air about him. Bruce is a billionaire playboy with too much time on his hands. He is observed as just that. At the gala, he was the arrogant billionaire. Around friends and family, he is just simply Bruce Wayne, the regular dude, like he is around Alfred in the comics and movies. Bruce can love, hate, do whatever his little heart desires. In the comics, cartoons, and movies it is obvious he care about what happens to his wards, Alfred, and the few women he gets close to. Batman, however, has no connection to anybody really, save Robin. When he is seen crying in the picture with Elle, can you really say anyone, even Batman, would be able to control their emotions when they thought she might die?**

**I am sorry that he is so out of character, I try as hard as I can to keep him Bruce Wayne and Batman, but sometimes he just can't be exact.**

**So, I hoped that helped anyone that might also be asking about Brucey. Now, here is the next chapter-ENJOY!!**

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The rest of the weekend was nothing compared to our Thanksgiving night adventure. We ran a search on abandoned buildings in Downtown Maxville. Four of them were office buildings that had closed down in the last four years. Which was awesome. We could just go check and see which ones were in the most threatening spots and if the were even in any condition to be entered. If the Escapees couldn't enter the building without it falling down around them, they couldn't blow it up. It was that simple.

We took another little road trip to look at the buildings. One had been knocked down to make way for a new apartment building. Another was nearly floorless because it had been exposed to the elements through all of it busted windows over the last four years. Yeah, no way that one was it. The other two were in good condition and had excellent locations to randomly blow-up at. The first was wedged between two major companies. The other was by a department store and a large toy store. Those were the ones we were going to have to watch.

Monday, we went back to school. The guards were still there and classes started up again like normal. Layla and I were selected to be Heroes in Save the Citizen on Friday and we beat two other sophomores easily. It was pretty awesome. Two weeks into December and nothing at all had happened. The Offspring had recovered from our little scuffle and were chillin' at the bottom of the suspicious list. Which was totally suspicious. We never really saw much of them; they kept pretty much on the DL and didn't cause trouble. It was really annoying to say the least.

Anyway, the third weekend of the month found the three of us girls in the mall, shopping for presents. We just kind of were hoping we would still be around to play Santa with them on Christmas Day.

"What are you getting Will?" I asked Layla, looking at a sweater for Neal. Yes, I was buying a gift for the dog. Shut-up. I loved the big oaf. Maybe a nice sweater would get him to stop waking me up in the morning. It was getting cold out, too. Today was a frosty 37 degrees out.

"I don't know. I was thinking about this CD he's been looking at and a dog-tag necklace that says 'Will & Layla' then the date that of the Homecoming Dance on the back. What do you think?" She asked, turning to Magenta and me.

"Sounds cute." I said. It really was sweet. Magenta nodded, agreeing with me.

"I'm thinking about getting Zach a personalized megaphone." She said before I could even get the question out of my mouth.

Layla and I paused, then gave her the weirdest look I have ever given anyone.

"A...megaphone?" I said slowly, making sure I had heard right. Was she seriously serious?

Magenta rolled her eyes, "Yeah, that's what he asked for. Seriously."

"Okay. Then I would totally get him a megaphone." Layla said with a perfectly straight face, then burst out laughing. Soon, I fell in with her. And eventually, Magenta was doubled over as well. Okay, come on, you know you are laughing in your head.

"Well...what are you getting Warren?" Magenta asked, as if challenging me to get a better gift than her awesome megaphone.

I shrugged, "No clue. Kinda hoping it will come to me at some point before Christmas."

"Last year, I got him a book." Layla offered. "War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy."

"How ironic." I murmured. Her friend gift, as 'pun'ny it may be, would not help me find a 'girlfriend' gift.

"He thought it was funny." She remarked with a shrug, meandering into a bookstore to look for a book for her mom that had been a bestseller a couple of years ago. We put our heads together and I ended up getting her that book and Layla got her the newly released sequel.

Well, day went on. Layla got Will his CD and dog tags. Magenta got Zach his personalized megaphone that read 'Zach-attack!' on the side. You know, one day they are going to get married and have the weirdest glowing guinea pigs for kids. Mark my words, it will happen. I also found Warren his present. It's perfect for him, of course. But, I think I will just keep it a secret. Haha, I'm so evil.

We made our way back home just in time to catch a movie that Layla and Will wanted to see on ABC Family. It was part of that '25 Days of Christmas' special. I just sat quietly in the big, comfy recliner while Zach and Will (who weren't at work like my boyfriend and Ethan) made-out with their respective girlfriends during commercials. Eventually, I got grossed out enough and fled to the safety of my bedroom. Dude, disaster zone! I waded through the debris that coated my floor and crashed onto my bed, burying my face in the pillow.

I was bored.

Bored. Bored. Bored. BORED.

Warren wasn't going to be off for another hour and that meant I was pretty much trapped in my room until then. That was, unless I wanted to go sit through in Make-out Central downstairs by myself. Yeah, I'd get around to that just as soon as I stopped breathing.

Something sitting on my dresser caught my eye. It was a book.

Warren had decided that I needed to get into the classics and broaden my horizons in literature. He just wasn't convinced that my reads just weren't good enough. I could not see why he just didn't accept that I liked crazy books about dragons and vegetarian vampires and hot werewolves. Of course, he responded with Bram Stoker had written a wonderful book about vampires.

I pointed out that any werewolf that might be in that story would be no where as hot as Jacob and that Dracula drank human blood. What if I had nightmares?

"Vell, I can take care of zat, now can't I?" He had said with a smirk in a horrible vampire accent before catching me up in his strong arms and planting a kiss on the tender skin of my neck.

I didn't end up with Dracula, just to annoy him a bit, and found a book that he hadn't read. Rolling across my bed, I snatched up the worn copy of Pride and Prejudice and began to read..._"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."_

That makes perfect sense of course. He has a butt load of money, so he wants to find a gold digger who will spend it. Perfect sense.

Couldn't just be that he wants to find love. That does happen sometimes you know.

It turned out to be a pretty good book, but the wording of it eventually put me to sleep once I got about sixty pages in. A soft brush of heat came across my lips, pulling me out of my slumber sometime later. Then, warmth began threading itselves through my hair and over my forehead gently, and skirting my lower lip before coming to rest between the bedspread and my cool cheek.

"Elle, wake up." Called a deep voice that rumbled above me, a whisper of breath tickling my ear. I slowly opened my eyes to find smoldering black orbs lined with dark lashes and deeply tanned skin. The aroma of spicy Chinese cuisine drifted up coyly around my nose. The eyes smiled, "Hey."

"Hi." I smiled back slowly at the eyes, entranced by the flames that danced in them.

He leaned close, our noses touched, making me giggle, "You're the most beautiful girl that I have ever laid eyes on."

I giggled again and brought my hand up to his cheek and raising my lips the centimeter that had separated us and kissed him lightly. "And you're the handsomest guy that I have ever had the complete and utter joy of kissing."

He grinned cockily and kissed me again, intoxicating me with his taste and passion. To soon, he pulled away and rose from where he was half-laying over the bed. I was about to complain and pull him back toward me when he held out a hand.

"Come on. I have a surprise. Gosh, you need to clean your room. I feel like some explorer having to hack my way through the jungle to save the girl who got herself in trouble." I disregared the comment about my room because my ears had been tuned to the s-word. Surprise? I love surprises! Yeah, not really. They kind of annoy me, but what else could I do but go with him. He was my drug, I was hooked. I took his hand and followed him down the hall and stairs, landing in the living room where the couples were still watching TV. The making-out had stopped and a whistling coming from the kitchen told me why. Layla's mom was home.

"Warren, tell your mom that I am so happy for her." Mrs. William's chimed from her post by the stove.

I threw a suspicious glance at Warren as he agreed that he would. What had his mom done? I was running things through my head that a woman like Mrs. Peace could be happy about. Not pregnant. Not engaged. Hmm. I was drawing a blank. Warren stopped by the door and let me put my shoes on, then insisted that I put on a scarf and jacket, which meant I had to stomp back up the stairs and retrieve them. I don't think he understood the thing about ice girls; we were ALWAYS freezing. It was our norm. Thirty-something degrees wouldn't phase us a bit. Truthfully, I didn't understand why he even wore a jacket, being a pyro, or even a shirt for that matter. But, I humored him and found the thinnest jacket I could, a light blue zip-up from Hollister. I just loved to see his eyes roll as he saw me taking the stairs two at a time, throwing that thing on and wrapping a scarf around my neck. He shook his head and sighed with a wry smile and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

"You try your hardest to push my buttons don't you?." Warren growled exasperatedly, leading me to the door.

"Yes, but you wouldn't like me nearly so much if I didn't." I grinned, noticing a sexy, half-smile creeping onto his face.

At the door, he took on large palm and covered my eyes, "Don't peek. And I forbid you to use your powers."

"Alright, just don't walk me into a tree." I told him as he guided me out of the front door where a frosty burst of air whipped around me and something on his skin sizzled quietly. I smiled, already knowing what he was showing me.

"Ready?" He whispered. I nodded, still humoring him. He pulled away his hands to reveal a building layer of snow that already blanketed the entire neighborhood. Turning, I smiled up at him and slide my arms around his neck. His small grin fell down into a frown, "You used your power."

I shook my head, "No, Hotshot, you used your's. I could hear it sizzling on your skin. But, it was a lovely surprise. I absolutely love snow." He gave a cute little pout and I could help just give him a kiss once more before running into the yard kicking up the white power. Like a little kid, I started twirling in circles. Snow fell gracefully down and settled into my hair, on my clothes, and in my hands, not melting.

Then I realized something.

Warren couldn't touch the snow.

...but I could.

Hehehehe...he.

Before he could turn to run, I gathered a big ball of snow and chunked at his face. It smashed into him and sizzled into water and steam.

"Now, that's not fair!" He accused, coming after me. I took off running down the sidewalk, making it to the mailbox before he caught me up by the waist and swirled me around, letting my snow-filled hair flair out and the contents drifted to the ground. With Warren still holding me off the ground and tight to him, I looked down, placing my hands on either side of his slightly steaming cheeks and kissed him deeply. Grinning and slightly out of breath, he slowly let me to the ground. "I have to show you something else."

"What?" I asked, hoping it would be a nice cup of hot chocolate.

"This way." He jerked his head toward the sidewalk we were facing.

Snuggling close, we walked with our arms wrapped around each other down the street. The streets were disserted save one man, who looked familiar, but I just couldn't tell you who he was, and he was walking his dog. Poor puppy, he had to be freezing his little tail off. Warren led me toward his house, walked up to the front door, made a big show about pulling out the key, and grandly flung it open to reveal what was hiding behind Door Number One.

"Oh, wow." I breathed. What had before been the charred remnants of a family room was a beautifully decorated living area. Walking in, I looked around, listening to my own footsteps echo on the hardwood floor. The new furniture consisted of black leather couches and chairs with wrought iron tables covered with glass tops highlighting areas in the room with their black and white lamps. Pictures smiled at us from black frames that lined the white walls in sharp diagonals. There was a large Chistmas tree stuffed into the corner that made the room look more like a home and not something out of a catolog. Not one part of the lovely room showed that only a month and a half earlier it had been nearly burnt to cinders then frozen solid. "When did it get finished?"

"Yesterday morning the last of the furniture was moved in." Warren told me, shutting the door behind him and heating up his arms so that the water on him steamed into the air before disappearing.

About that time, the most intoxicating smell drifted toward me nose. Looking back toward Warren, then wandering into the kitchen, I found Mrs. Peace standing over a stove with an apron and armed with a wooden spoon.

"Elle, lovely to see you dear. I was just fixing one of the dishes Alfred showed me for dinner. Will you stay?" She asked as she spun around the room checking the oven and stirring the steaming pot on the burner. The kitchen was fixed as well. It had a more homey atmosphere than the new living room. The walls were a light blue and little pink and yellow roses were scattered into the decor. They held up the curtain and were placed in a bouquet on the table. It was all very quaint.

"I would love, too." I replied. Warren and I set the table for three as she finished cooking, then ate dinner quietly. Warren kept playing footsie with me under the table. You wouldn't think tough guys played footsie, would you? Well, my big bad boyfriend does. Finishing off the meal and pushing back my plate slightly, I turned to Mrs. Peace, I would almost say Al made that, Mrs. Peace. It was delecious. And the house looks amazing."

"Thank you, dear. The guys making the repairs said that you freezing it practically saved the place." She smiled at me gratefully.

"Glad I could help." I chuckled. Warren gestured for me to follow him upstairs after he put the dishes in the sink. I slipped my small hand into his large one and let him guide me up to his room. The upstairs had been barely touched by fire, but the smoke had stained the walls and the floors had had to be redone in the hallway from where the flames had crawled up the stairs. He pushed open the door to his room and I looked in to see a room that completely fit him. It was completely red and black. There was hardly anything that was not part of the color scheme.

"It's so you." I smirked, flopping down onto the bed and stretching catlike across it. "I didn't think that anything in your room was touched by the smoke because the door was closed."

"Apparently, my dad gets kicks from destroying everything up here. I guess he knew we would get here in time to stop it or something." He told me, sitting down beside me.

I shot up into sitting position, "So there was someone up here? I knew I heard footsteps! I was just a little too occupied at the time to really know if I was hearing it or just hearing something else."

He shrugged and fell back onto the comforter. "I don't really care at the moment as long as he just stays clear now."

"Sounds like a plan." I agreed with sarcastic enthusiasm.

"It does." Warren agreed in a false seriousness before letting a smirk slide onto his face, pulling me down onto his chest, and locking me in his strong arms.

And his lips were like_ this_ close...

Can anyone guess what happens next?

Any takers?

I know you know...

Yeah, we got interrupted...AGAIN!

This was getting old.

Simultaneously, our phones had rang, causing both of us to groan and dig into our pockets to get them. Still laying on Warren's chest, I checked the caller ID, and seeing that it was Layla, answered.

I expected her just to ask me where I was and if I was coming home for supper. Warren and I had just kind of disappeared after all.

I was not expecting a wailing blurble that was, I suppose, Layla making an attempt at forming words. Concerned, I pushed myself up off Warren's chest and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Lay. Layla. LAYLA!" My attempt to stop her did next to nothing.

All I could get from the blubbering was "Will...and me...fight...mad...WAHHAHAHAHHH."

Yeah. Well, I think I at least got why she was crying.

"Layla, shh." I spoke softly into the phone. She let out a disgusting sniffle and quieted. "I'll be home in about five minutes."

"Will you? I know you are with Warren." She asked in a watery voice, sniffling again.

I looked over to Warren, who had stood up and was now leaning against the desk in with a slightly perplexed look on his handsome face.

Bet you five bucks it was Will.

"Yeah, it's fine. I know Warren will understand." I assured her.

Layla let out another sob, and in the background I could hear Magenta saying something to her. "Okay." She told me as appreciatively as she could while holding back another wail. "Bye."

"Bye." I said, pressing the end button and turning to Warren. He was still on the phone, grunting in agreement every once in a while. Looking up from the floor, he lifted the corner of his mouth in a small smile. I blew him a kiss and he grinned wider, dazzling me with one of his heart stopping smiles.

"Okay, man, just give her some time to cool down before you go talk to her." Whoever it was, I'm still thinking Will, must have responded with something stupid because Warren rolled his eyes. "Don't do that. She'll only get angrier." Warren paused, listening. "Yeah, I kind of know she will." Another pause. Would this kid just get the picture? Don't talk to her now, talk to her when she is calm and not likely to kill him. "Um, I think she just called Elle anyway. So, just wait. Call her tomorrow. Or whenever Elle thinks it's safe. I'm not getting in the middle of that."

So, he would just sacrifice me? How rude!

The conversation only lasted a minute for two longer before Warren forcefully said goodbye and flipped the phone closed.

"Will?" I asked, indicating the caller.

Warren nodded, "Layla?"

"Yep." I confirmed. "Did he seriously just call you for relationship advice?"

Warren chuckled and sat back down beside me, "I've been behind that relationship from the start. Will wouldn't have even know she liked him if it wasn't for me."

"Well, you're just the little Mr. Cupid, aren't you?" I smirked, watching him grimace at the title. Leaning close to his ear with a mischievous smile, I asked "Do you have one of those little toga outfits hidden in your closet? Real men where skirts these days, you know."

"No." He growled defensively. Before I realized it, he had me pinned on the bed and was tickling me mercilessly.

"How about a set of wings? Do you have those hidden somewhere, too?" I managed to asked through my laughter, wiggling away from his torturous hands.

"You are just asking for it." He threatened menacingly. I squealed and ran away from him as he dove toward me. This tactic worked just about as well as it had earlier. His arms came around my waist and I was trapped, my back flush against his burning hot chest. I sagged backward against him, letting my head rest against his shoulder, out of breath from the tickling, running, and just generally being near him. A burning pair of lips alighted on my neck, sending electric shocks down to the very tips of my toes. "You better get home. Layla's waiting." He murmured against my neck, making me shiver. Dang you and your stupid fighting boyfriend Layla.

"Yeah, I probably should." Sighing, I detached myself from his arms regretfully and started to the door.

Footsteps behind me told me that Warren was following. "I'm walking you home." He grunted, picking up his jacket where he had thrown it over a chair.

I rolled my eyes and grinned. He was always worried about my safety. It was cute, I guess. On the way out, he stuck his head in the kitchen and explained. His mom waved us out the door, brushing away his comment about her being alone. Three feet outside in the snow, I decided I couldn't make it a step farther. And I told Warren so.

He kind of just gave me this 'look'...you know, the one that says 'and you expect me too...?'. I raised my arms like a two-year-old. "Cawry me." I begged in a baby voice.

Warren just sighed, walked up behind me and scooped me up wedding style. "You are so spoiled." He complained, but not letting me down.

Dude, you are so whipped. Stay that way, please.

"I know." I chirped happily as he carried me down the sidewalk as if I weighed nothing (doesn't that make a girl feel good?). It didn't take long for us to arrive at Layla's and he set me down on the front step, gave me a solid peck on the lips, told me goodnight, gave me a deep kiss that made my toes curl, and promptly walked down the sidewalk back toward his house.

Annhhh, guys, this means Warren won't be right next door anymore. Maannn. That just stinks.

Layla's mom was tidying the living room when I walked in.

"You missed it, dear." She remarked, I assumed about the current Will/Layla situation.

"What exactly happened?" I inquired, while pulling the snow away that had gathered on my clothing since Warren had left and throwing it out the door with my powers.

Mrs. Williams stopped what she was doing, placed her hands on her hips, and said, shaking her head, "Dear, I haven't slightest idea. I was in the washroom putting clothes in the dryer and it was like a banshee flew into the room. Layla was just screaming her head off. Then he said something and she slapped him and he left. Now, you explain that one to me?"

"I haven't the slightest idea how to, Mrs. Williams." I responded, confused. She slapped him? Like _slapped_ him? Layla? Will? Oh my gosh! That was like...impossible.

Layla's mom shook her head again and told me Layla and Magenta were in Layla's room. As I ascended the stairs, I could hear Layla's sobs coming from her room at the end of the hall. Magenta's face shown with obvious relief when I walked into the room. Layla was curled up on the bed with her head resting on Magenta's lap as she cried her little eyes out. Magenta just shook her head exactly as Mrs. Williams had. What the heck was going on?

"Lay, what happened?" I crooned, sitting down next to the red-head.

She lifted her head, revealing her red face. Some people can cry and do alright appearance wise. Layla wasn't one of those people.

"Ohhh, Elle," She wailed in a teary hic-cough. "It was h-horr-rribble. I-I just up-up and sl-slapped W-Will. I w-was just so-so mad all-ll of a su-sudden and he j-just said he-he was going to g-get a ham sandwich. It was l-like something sna-apped."

"Really?" I asked, slightly stunned. That was it? I was expect him to have trashed her mom or something. This was like, next to nothing. The most she could get offended by that would be because Lay doesn't eat meat. But she never took offense when we ate it. Something strange was going on.

"Ye-yes." I looked to Magenta for conformation. She gravely nodded her head and stroked Layla's hair. Layla herself had started another bout of tears.

I sighed and rose from the bed, "I'll go get the ice cream. Any particular flavor, Lay?"

"Ch-chocolate." She snuffled, giving me a grateful smile.

We spent the rest of the night sitting on Layla's bed devouring a carton of Ben & Jerry's finest. Layla stopped crying. And that was about all the progress she had made. She wouldn't call Will. He hated her, she said.

Of course, she wouldn't get it through her head that that was impossible. Magenta and I told her and told her, but did she believe us? NO!

Anyway, eventually we passed out and woke up on Sunday to Zach calling Magenta. Not ten seconds later, Warren called me.

Well, this was too much to early for our dear, heartbroken Layla. Especially when she saw the sleepy smiles on our faces that sprang up automatically upon hearing our boyfriend's voices. She burst into tears and we had to say goodbye quickly and comfort her. Eventually, she just ended up crying herself back to sleep and Magenta and I went down stairs to call our men.

_"You mean she really had no reason to be mad?"_ Warren questioned me again in disbelief. I had relayed the entire story to him via phone and he was as confused as the rest of us.

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

I know, I totally just nodded through the phone. Shut-up. You know you do it, too.

_"That's insane. What could have made her do that?"_ Warren grumbled half to himself.

"I don't know how her mind works! Maybe she's majorly PMSing or something."

_"Elle! I don't want to here that."_ Warren said in a strained voice.

Realizing who I was talking to and what I said, I rolled my eyes at his reaction. "Sorry, forgot."

_"Yeah. Sure you did. So, she won't even consider calling him? I got Will over here spazzing out because he thinks she hates him."_ He told me. Well, that sounded familiar. I could hear Will protest in the background that he wasn't spazzing.

"Layla thinks Will hates her now and she has refused to call him." Warren huffed at my answer, exasperated with all the relationship nonsense.

_"Just talk her into it, please? I really don't want to fry my best friend, but if he keeps nagging, it's _going_ to happen."_ Warren warned loudly, making sure Will heard him, I guess. They are the weirdest best buds ever. Don't you agree?

"I'll try to talk to her again." I promised. Footsteps coming down the stairs caught my attention and I hurriedly got off the phone with him and beamed at Layla when she mounted the bottom step a second later, hoping my smile would be contagious. It wasn't.

"Uhh," She groaned, pressing her palms against her temples and laying out on the couch. I took the recliner she and Will usually occupied. "My head is killing me."

"You balled your eyes out last night, I wouldn't be surprised if your eyes didn't suddenly pop out onto the floor." I commented dryly. Magenta walked back in the room from the kitchen, where she had been raiding the fridge while she was on the phone. Placing a tray of food and drinks on the coffee table, she grabbed an apple and a leftover piece of pizza that had been warmed up in the microwave. What a healthy breakfast. Oh, well, it's not like I hadn't done it before.

Grabbing my own piece of pizza and a can of Coke, I lounged back and quietly said through a mouthful of pepperoni, "So, thought about calling a certain somebody."

"I might get to that as soon as I know my head won't explode when I get up." She moaned again, cradling her head.

"Lay, when was the last time you had a headache?" A thought had popped into my head. When I had first came to Earth, Layla had said she-

"Never had one in my entire life. Gosh, I feel like I'm dying." She complained. That was really, really odd.

I bolted up out of the recliner and tossed the my half-eaten pizza back onto the tray. Putting a finger over my lips, I paced back and forth in deep thought. There was something going on. I knew that for sure now.

"When did it start hurting?"

"I don't know." She responded, cracking an eye to look at me, shading her eyes from the light. "About the time I got mad at Will, I guess."

"Magenta," I said, stopping my paces behind the loveseat where she was sitting.

She looked over her shoulder at me, "What?"

"What was Theo Mason's dad's power?"

She looked to the ceiling for advice, and apparently found some, "Uh, inducing pain telepathically, I think?"

"What-What if he could hit the part of the brain that induces anger?" I suggested, the foundation of a theory building itself in my head.

"Yeah, but how could he do that here?"

Something in the back of my head sparked. A passing moment, nearly forgotten. "Oh, my gosh. It-it couldn't be him."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry, it took a while guys, but I love me some reviews. So, if you could push that little button...I would just love you more! **

**This story is pretty interesting. There's only one thing that really irks me about your story. Batman's identity. You toss it around and make it out that everyone knows it. Only a handful of people actually know it so even the heroes would be surprised when they learned that he and Bruce Wayne are the same person. Also you write him way out of character. He is to emotional in your story. The reason he is feared is because of the way he acts cold and aloof even when facing danger.**


	20. Proud

**a/n: Okay, guys, I haven't got all of the chapters edited because I have been out of town and busy, but I am still wading through them slowly. Here's the next chap, Enjoy!**

* * *

Unfortunately for Layla, this kind of thing called for a group meeting and well...Will came as a package deal with that said group. When we first told her we were calling the boys, she flipped. I mean kicking, screaming, _crying_-the whole works. Magenta and I eventually got her to calm down and she decided it would just be best if locked herself in her room. That was until I pointed out that I could easily fill the lock with water and freeze it, making the lock break, and the whole point of locking it and holing herself up in there pointless.

"Okay, but I will not talk to Will. I can't face him." She declared, throwing herself down into the chair dramatically. Covering her face with her hands, she groaned her favorite line-"Oh, my gosh, what did I do? I still can't believe I slapped him."

Do you know how many times a person can repeat that in the course of an hour?

Too many. I believe we were on one hundred and twenty four at the moment.

"This includes them." Magenta pointed out softly, perching herself lightly on the arm of the couch.

"Uhhh, all this stuff just makes my head hurt worse." Layla moaned, sinking deeper into the chair. "How do we even know it was that guy?"

"Because he looks just like his son. I know it was him." There was no mistaking who he was now, once I had connected the name to the face, everything had clicked.

Magenta frowned, scrunching up her nose. She was thinking about something.

"What is it?" I asked, wanting to get whatever it was out in the open.

Her frowned deepened, "I don't know. I really wish we could know for sure that Derek Mason could make someone go ballistic like that. It would just make things a lot easier for me to wrap my head around this being reality. Could he really do it?"

Could he?

I didn't know for sure.

"Hold on. I got this." I grabbed my phone off of the table and hit the speed dial button for Gavin.

_"Yello?"_ He answered after a couple of rings.

"Is a color, not a greeting, dear." I laughed, noting the grogginess of his voice. He was asleep this late? "Where are you right now?"

_"Uh...my house, in my bed."_ I guess that answered my sleeping question.

"Great! Can you look at those files on the Escapees again?" I asked optimistically, hoping he still had the copies.

The bed creaked in the background as he got off of the bed. A girl's voice mumbled something and he told her to go back to sleep. Uh-oh, naughty, naughty Gavin! The sound of shuffling papers came through, and then he opened and shut a door. _"Okay, what do you want to know?"_

"Who was that girl?" Not that I cared. Gavin could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted. Best friends are just entitled to that sort of information.

He chuckled and mumbled something that was rather wicked that I will refrain from repeating. Just so you know. In this area of the playing field, Gavin and I are complete opposites. Gavin was rather...umm...volatile? in his personal life. Whereas I am not. I wasn't for the boyfriend of the week thing like he was with his girlfriends. In fact, I think I have told you that Warren is my first boyfriend. Anyway, he doesn't rag me about my personal morals, so we just work around his numerous girlfriends.

"You're horrible." I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, look up Derek Mason's power."

The sound of rustling paper came though the phone again and then he parroted the words off of the paper monotonously, _"Inducing pain telepathically."_

"That's all?" I asked. That just totally went and stomped out all my theories. "Didn't you say you had criminal history too? Look for weird cases. Like extreme headaches or anger."

He was silent for a minute, _"Here's one. This is listed under 'suspicion of involvement', they can't prove he did it."_

"Okay, what is it?" I was praying for some sort of miracle.

_"He was arrested for kidnapping this billionaire heiress and holding her for ransom. Says she had a real calm personality, but about ten minutes before he got her, she flipped out. She started screaming and stuff, then fired her bodyguard and ran away. When they got her back a few hours later, she had this migraine that lasted for a couple days. That sound like something you are looking for?"_ He asked when he finished summarizing the report.

MIRACLE DELIVERED!

"Perfect! Gavin, I love you. Thank you. Thank you. _Thank you!"_ Can you tell that I was happy? Magenta and Layla looked at me as if I were crazy or sprouting at third head.

_"And that makes me assume that that was exactly what you were looking for. Your welcome."_ He said, a smile in his voice. I think he was probably laughing at me.

"Okay, you can go back to_ doing_ whatever you were doing." Yeah, total innuendo there.

_"I'm glad I have your permission to_ do it_."_ He returned. _"Tell me the next time you come to Gotham."_

"Alright, I should be there Wednesday. Thanks again. Bye." I said, rolling my eyes and chuckling at his private life again. Can you see why I would never date him when I was in Gotham?

"Good news?" Magenta asked before I could even set my phone down.

I told both of them exactly what he had said about Derek Mason. "So, he could have controlled your anger, Layla."

"But not my arms!" She wailed, holding her head as if it were about to blow apart if she let go. "I slapped him. Oh, he hates me, I know it."

That was the point where Magenta and I looked at each other at the same time and decided she was a hopeless case.

"We need to get the guys over here." I said out-loud after a few moments of us all just staring at each other.

Twenty minutes later, the boys were all huddled on the door step, trying to stay warm in the flurry of snow. Warren came through last, filling the doorway with his wide shoulders and warmth.

"Hey." He murmured softly, drawing me close and brushing his lips across mine. As always, electric sparks traveled all the way through my body, sticking my feet to the floor. Drawing back, he flashed a big smile, knowing what his kisses did to me, and led me into the living room.

Will was sitting on one side of the living room, trying-and failing-to look as if her were not openly staring longingly at Layla. Poor kid.

Layla was curled up backward in the chair she had taken from me earlier, the farthest seat from Will you could get.

Suddenly, the argument we had earlier about Layla wanting to lock herself in her room popped him my head. The beginning fragments of a plan started to stitch themselves together in my head. But, I would have to save it for the perfect opportunity.

Warren sat down on the couch and I perched myself in his lap. "Okay, so, we have a problem." I began to tell them all that had happened, Magenta interrupting every once in a while to add something I forgot, and eventually the boys were staring at us wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Your talking crazy talk, Elle." Zach announced, looking from me to Magenta skeptically. His eyes stopped on his girlfriend. "You too, Maj."

"So, Layla wasn't really in control of her feelings? You weren't mad at me?" Will rushed, looking hopefully at Layla. Poor Will.

Layla promptly broke into tears and tore up the steps. Great.

"What did I say now?" Will cried in a stricken voice, a look of desperation on his face. I heard Warren give a sigh/growl behind me. I suppose he had heard more than his fair share of Will's worries since last night, being his best friend and all.

"Nothing, Will. Nothing." I soothed, reaching out and patting his arm. The plan I had thought of was like a flashing neon sign in my brain. "Hey, come with me."

Looking confused and slightly afraid of what I might do, he followed me out of the room and up the stairs. Why was everyone always so suspicious of me? "Stand behind me so she doesn't see you at first." I whispered once we were in range of Layla's door. This plan kind of hung on the fact that she would hopefully not see him until it was to late to slam the door in my face.

Softly, I rapt my knuckles on the green door, "Layla?" I asked quietly. Will shifted nervously behind me. "Layla, it's me, Elle."

"Go away." A blubbery replied came.

"Layla, please open the door." I begged, "I know your mother wouldn't be very happy with me if I had to break to lock."

"Don't. Please, just go away." She pleaded with me. The muffled voice told me her face was buried in a pillow. I huffed angrily, tired of this already. Grabbing Will's arm, I pulled him through my room and into the bathroom.

"What are we doing?" Will whispered, his face drawn into a confused, questioning expression.

I motioned to the door opposite the on that led to my room. Layla's room was on the other side. She never locked that door from the outside because the lock would stick and lock behind her when she came into the bathroom. Not wanting to scare the bejeezes out of her or anything, I pushed the door open and let it fall back on it's own. The low 'thump' it made as it hit the wall alerted Layla someone had entered the room.

"I hate you." She mumbled when she looked up from her pillow. Then she saw who was standing slightly behind me. I could hear Will gulp audible at the expression that flashed across her face.

"Layla, I insist that you speak with your boyfriend." I ordered, dragging Will into the room behind me as I walked toward the bed. "You." I jabbed a finger at Will, "Sit."

Layla glared daggers at me as Will cautiously sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Guys, what they are trying to do is split us up. They want some of us to take one side, and some take the other. We can't let that happen. So, talk it over, make-up, make-out, get back downstairs so we can figure out what the hell we are going to do about this mess." I told them seriously, giving both of them the look you give a dog when you are telling him to 'stay' as you leave, before walking back out through my bathroom and shutting the door behind me.

With a smug smile, I returned to the living room. "I am pretty sure that I am awesome." I declared, falling back into Warren's lap and drawing his face toward mine for a quick kiss.

"What are we going to do about this guy? We can't have some villain just hopping up in our yards and making us fight all the time." I asked. The looks on their faces told me they didn't have the slightest idea of where to begin to resolve this little situation we had.

"What can we do?" Magenta asked gloomily, nestling in beside Zach. Ethan took her spot on the coffee table to get closer to our circle.

"I don't think we can handle doing this on our own anymore. We need to tell someone." Ethan said seriously. I didn't like the look he gave to me in particular.

"Yeah, because that worked so well before." I came in sarcastically, remembering when Layla and I attempted to tell Principal Powers someone stole blueprints for the school. That had been a big flop.

"Elle." Warren's low voice rumbled quietly, his knee bouncing a little to get my attention.

"What?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. He had a deep set frown and worry lines showing prominently on his forehead.

"You won't like the idea." He told me plainly, "But I think you should tell Mr. Wayne."

"Are you crazy?" I asked in a dead pan voice. Umm, can you even imagine what Bruce would do if he found out what shenanigans we had been getting ourselves into? OH-ho-ho-Ho...he would have a coronary.

Then I would be forever know as the girl who killed Batman.

And I just can't have that on my record.

"I'm not kidding." He moved his head back and forth seriously, never letting his dark eyes leave mine. "He would be able to do more than we could."

"Yeah, and then we would be put on house arrest." I wasn't kidding either. Bruce wouldn't let me leave this house for a year if he found out. "He finds out that I was in the clubs snooping around again and I'm dead...we're dead."

Before I knew it, I was being carried. "What are you doing?" I squealed, flailing my arms, nearly whacking Warren in the face. I didn't like the view of the ceiling I was getting, I couldn't tell where we were going.

"Talking to you." Warren grumbled, dodging my arm again. "Will you stop that?"

My arms fell from the air. "Why?"

"Because you won't listen to me in there and whacking me in the head hurts." He growled. Somebody obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. He softly plunked me down on the kitchen counter and stood in front of me, his hands resting on my knees. "Look, I know you don't want to-"

"Damn right." I quipped, cutting him off. His face was drawn into a tight expression of irritation, but the look in his eyes was still soft.

"Elle, I don't want that to be my dad next time." He said in a barely audible voice. That was what he was so worried about. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and pulled his body closer to me, planting a light kiss on each cheek before resting my forehead against his and grinning.

"You have to be the only guy I know who worries after me more than Bruce." I told him. Seriously, I don't think even Clark, Dick, or Gavin worry more. And I have given them very, very viable reasons to, believe me.

"It's my job." He murmured,giving my knee a squeeze and flashing his white teeth back at me with a blush.

"Maybe I need to adjust your duties to not include badgering me to death." I suggested, swatting his hand away from my knee.

"That wouldn't do you any good. I would do it anyway." He told me with a smirk. His dark hair fell in front of his eyes and my fingers itched to push it away, just as an excuse to touch him. Not that I really needed a reason. The only reason I didn't move it was because it made him look hotter...if that was possible.

"You shouldn't." I growled. "It will only annoy me."

"Good. I like annoying you." He growled back, poking me. Then with the most devilish smile, he said, "You look sexy when you are annoyed."

"Are you saying I don't look that way all the time?" I haughtily inquired, putting my hands on my hips saucily. The whole effect would have been better if I had been standing.

His eyes widened when he realized what he had said. "I didn't say that. You are putting words in my mouth."

"Well, your words weren't good enough, so I put my own in." I answered him superioriously, sticking my nose in the air. The air in the room went up fifteen degrees in a split second.

"That's a load of bull." He growled. Did I mention that we still tended to fight about absolutely nothing? We did. A lot.

"You're a load of bull." I shot back his own words, sticking my tongue out.

He rolled his eyes, "Oh, that's mature."

"I think so." I said, raising my voice.

"I think it was something a five-year-old would do." He told me, laughing at me with his gorgeous dark liquid pools of eyes.

"Are you calling me a child?" I damanded, completely appauled, blowing a huff of angry air through my nose.

Getting to two centimeters from my face, he cheekily said, "Yes."

I shoved him away, crossing my arms over my black shirt and glaring at him angrily. To my surprise, he reached out and thumped me on the nose. My next attempt to push him only allowed him to capture my small, chilly hands in his large ones and pull me into his chest. Then the fight was over and he was giving me a soft, lingering kiss on the lips.

"So, are you going to tell him?" He asked, his lips still close enough to brush mine when he talked, making me shiver.

I sighed, realizing he would keep at me until I agreed to tell someone. "Look, I am going to Bruce's in three days and staying for three. I will tell him then. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I will probably be in a shit-load of trouble after that."

"I know."

"I will probably be under house arrest for the next century."

"I'll wait for you."

"I will probably never be able to see you again."

"I wouldn't let that happen."

"You're sweet."

"I know." He drawled in his rumbling, heart-stopping voice and pressed his lips to mine. I responded by snaking my fingers into his hair at the nape of his neck and pulling him as close to me as possible, which ended up with me practically straddling his abdomen while still sitting on the counter. His arms wound around my hips, sneaking beneath my shirt to caress the skin of my back. I moaned into his mouth at the contact and his kisses became hungrier, his warmth filling my mouth with savory pleasure.

"Gaw, and here I thought you two were discussing something important." Zach said out of nowhere, causing Warren to jump away from me.

HOW MANY TIMES...how many times will me and Warren be interrupted?

I think, maybe, it's a game that they are all playing. Prize: Utter joy of infuriating Elle.

"We were." I growled at him as he leaned into the refrigerator.

He looked back at us, smirking. "What? The last thing you ate?" Umm, eww.

Magenta entered from the living room to see my glare at Zach and him holding back a laugh. "Catch them again?"

"Yep!" I really wanted to punch him right then. Ethan came in, and realizing what was going on, gave a chuckle.

"Classic." Magenta grinned, shaking her head at us. Zach tossed her a soda and she leaned back against the cabinet opposite us. "So, how do you think the love-birds upstairs are doing?"

I motioned for Zach to hand me a Dr. Pepper and shrugged, "I would go see, but I would hate to interrupt something."

Magenta nodded, looking at the ceiling.

"Hoping to develop X-ray vision?" I joked, popping the top on the drink Zach handed me.

"Maybe." She shrugged.

Warren grinned evilly as he said, "You know, we could always send you in through the air vent." I wasn't really sure what they were talking about. Probably something from the Homecoming Dance.

"Bite me." She growled, narrowing her eyes at him. ,

"Wrong guy." He smirked, nodding his head at Zach, "That's his deal."

Magenta rolled her eyes and sipped her cola. "I hate you."

"That's alright, he's got me." I chirped, wrapping my arms around his neck and drawing him to me so that his back was against my stomach. He folded his hands over my arms and kissed the skin he could reach.

Magenta rolled her eyes. "Get a room."

"Wait, Elle. Use your power." Warren said suddenly, stopping his line of kisses and looking over his shoulder to see what I thought.

"What?" My power?

"Like when you were driving in Gotham. Feeling the water or something." He reminded me. I guess I can do that, can't I? I am so stupid sometimes.

"Oh, yeah." I always forget I have that ability for a reason. It really isn't hard when it freaks the hell out of you to use it. "I would rather not."

"Oh, come on, please?" Magenta begged. "I want to know what if we are going to have to deal with anymore insane ravings of a depressed best friend."

Ten minutes later, I gave in to their goading, "Fine, but if everything disintegrates don't blame me. Well, I guess you could, but-"

"Elle," Warren stopped me, knowing I was just going on and on to stall."Just do it."

Throwing a glare at him, I let my eyes go unfocused and concentrated on the water molecules flitting around in the rooms upstairs. As if I was walking through the hall, I pushed my power under the door of Layla's room and poured my conciseness into the water in the air there.

I guess I have never told you what exactly this looks like when I am doing it. There is no color, just this liquid smoothness. Kind of like if you looked over a lake or pond when there is no wind and it looks like a piece of satin ruffling over and over. Only this is a picture in your mind. A double vision I guess you could say. One in front of your eyes and one you see in your head.

Anyway, when I 'looked' around Layla's room, I really wished that I hadn't.

"I think they are getting along fine." I choked, trying to get my mind out of that room as quickly as possible.

"That bad?" Ethan asked, laughing at my facial expression.

"Hush, I am trying to get that image out of my head."

"That!" Magenta sputtered, spraying soda everywhere.

"No, just not something I ever, ever want to see again." I said, shaking my head in disgust, still trying to clear it.

"Well, at least they aren't fighting anymore." Zach shrugged, chugging another soda down.

* * *

Bruce came and got me to take me back to Gotham for Christmas on Wednesday. By then, I had decided the only way to tell him about what we had been doing without being killed was to get him rip-roaring drunk and just blurt it out.

Since, I knew that was impossible, I was looking toward Plan B: Tell him everything and hope that a lot of people attend my funeral.

The hour and a half drive to Gotham seemed like just as good of place to begin as any. He couldn't storm out of a moving car, so he would at least have to hear the whole story.

"So, Bruce, how's life?" I inquired once we were on the road. My plan was to start a conversation and slowly ease into my acts of delinquency.

He just looked over at me with a very aggravated half-glare and said "What did you do now."

"It's not fair that you just assume something is wrong when I try to open up a line of communication." I complained, delaying telling him as long as I could. We were just now passing the outskirts of Maxville. And under the speed limit at that! I had way to much time to try and explain this. It was easier with Bruce to just keep things short and simple.

"Elle." He ground his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tighter. The vein in his forehead was already bulging a little bit. Oh, great, he was already getting mad.

"So, you know how you kind of headed off our little trip to the school." I said, might as well start with the stuff he already knew.

"Don't tell me this is about the men and women in conjunction with Warren's father." Bruce groaned, giving me a wary look.

"Okay!" I chirped, settling back down in my seat and remaining silent. He did tell me not to tell him.

"Well?" He asked after a few minutes.

"You told me not to tell you!" I argued, throwing my hands in the air. The dangerous look I received loosed my lips a bit. Paying attention to the paint that was chipping on my nails, I started with something simple. "We might have figured out what they are doing..."

"Yeah." Okay, so he didn't sound so mad.

"And we might have done a little more than get in a fight with their kids at Magic Mountain."

"Yeah," Well, maybe a little piqued.

"And we might have done a little snooping at a club in downtown Gotham."

"Tell me everything..._NOW_." Yeah, he sounded pissed. Bruce, in his stylish suit, was glaring at me with fire in his eyes from behind the wheel when a chanced a glance at him.

We had a _very_ long conversation about our recent activities, which ended with Bruce mulling it all over in the driver's seat, not saying a word.

And his silence scared the shit out of me. Silence + Bruce = NOT GOOD.

"Umm, am I in trouble?" I asked quietly, knowing very well that I was, but it was always good to ask.

"Yes." He said in a tight voice. Remember that angry, bulging vein? It was attempting to burst out of his head.

"Big trouble?" I asked in a smaller voice, sliding down in the seat.

"_Monumental_ trouble." He growled, staring over his white knuckled grip on the wheel at the road.

"Oh." I squeaked, sinking lower in the seat.

"What are you going to do?" He asked me tiredly.

_Do?_ Was he seriously asking **ME** what **I** was going to do? Was this a trick question?

"I don't know." I answered, not really knowing what else to say. How do you answer that?

"You got yourself into this, get yourself out." I didn't want to point out that it wasn't just _me _who got myself into it...I did have accomplices.

"We need help." I told him, hoping he would volunteer.

"Good." That was all he said. What kind of answer was that. I think Bruce was a little off his rocker on the responses he was giving today.

"Good?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, good." He confirmed. "You are mature enough to know to ask for help. That's good. Albeit, I wish you had asked sooner, but you still asked. You are growing up."

"Bruce," I uttered, astonished, and not bothering to hide my smile. "Are you getting sentimental on me? My first big gig as a superhero and you're getting all gushy? Aww, that's so sweet."

"You are still in trouble." He pointed out, giving me a lethal glare.

"Right." I nodded, sobering up and running my fingers though my long silver hair, "So, about that help..."

By the time we got to Wayne Manor, we had worked out a some-what stable solution. We greeted Al at the front door and made a beeline for the Batcave.

"Okay, so explain, please?" I asked as Bruce laid out a bunch of tiny metal pieces and two electronic devices that resembled iPods.

Bruce picked up one of the tiny black pieces and polished it slight on the front of his button-down, "This is a tracking device."

"Tracking device. Got it." I said, taking it from him and examining it. It was tiny, looked gem-like, and had a minuscule blinking red light.

He picked up the iPod thing. "This is the tracker."

"Tracker. Got it." I responded, taking that too.

"You activate a device by putting it to this pad here, and this screen will come up." He took me through each on step by step and activated the device in my hand.

"Now, this thing works off a special GPS that is linked to the Watchtower mainframe and satellite system and can be viewed at anytime by anyone in the JL." He told me, clicking the little buttons on the wheel in the middle. "See, you are in Wayne Manor. Well, under it, but you can't tell that from here. But here...you can."

He had clicked some buttons and the graph on the screen rolled into a three-dimensional model and I was underground.

"Bruce, you're amazing." I gushed, fiddling with the device to see what else it would do.

He gave me a surly look, reminding me that I was still in trouble, "Compliments won't help you out, Duchess."

"I was only being honest." I said innocently, giving him a puppy dog look.

"Sure." He so didn't believe me. Darn him for being immune to my puppy eyes. "Now, when you get back to Maxville, each of your friends needs to put one of these somewhere on their person. Behind the ear is a nice place to hide it so that it is not noticed if you are captured. Hopefully that won't happen, but..."

"Yeah, I get it." I cut him off, looking at the activated device in my palm. "How does it stick?"

"Adhesive, of course." Bruce said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, giving me an innocent stare.

"Oh, yes, of course, adhesive." I remarked sarcastically. "Where might I find this adhesive?"

Bruce chuckled at my mood and produced a small white tube. "This will make it stick to any surface and will only come off with this." He told me, pulling out a black tube and handing both to me.

"Okay." I took both tubes and pocketed them. "Question."

"What?" He asked, scooping up the other six pieces and depositing them in my out held hand.

"Waterproof?" That would really suck if we couldn't take showers until these things were not needed anymore.

"Just don't go more than 15,000 leagues under." He smirked.

"Well, you know me." I joked, pilfering around the shelves until I found a small drawstring bag to put the device and pieces in. I realized something as I turned off the GPS device. "Oh, gosh, you'll be able to spy on me from the Watchtower whenever you want."

"Not to mention anytime I am on Earth." He gave me an infuriating smile. He picked up the other GPS that he had laid out and tossed it up in the air before catching it again. "I have this. You and that boy better watch it."

"You're evil." I accused, glaring at him, knowing fully well that he probably would spy on me.

"You're trouble." He responded, pocketing the device.

"So, what's my punishment for practically asking to be blown up?" I asked, lifting myself onto the table to sit. Bruce's face drew into a frown and he crossed his arms, thinking.

After what seemed like forever, he said, "No car privileges while you are here."

"What?" I asked, completely and utterly dumbstruck. "That's it?"

Bruce smiled, "You are a superhero, Elle. That puts you up for these things. Truthfully, I am quite impressed. You have shown a fair lack of judgement, but in all, I think you have handled this case rather well. You have done your work. Figured things out. I don't know, I am kind of proud of you, Duchess."

My heart swelled up. Bruce was proud of me. Of _me_. I know this may not seem like much, but think about that first time you accomplished something amazing and your mom or dad or whoever came in and told you that they were proud of something you had done. Gosh, I got a little teary-eyed thinking about it.

Before Bruce could escape, I jumped off of the table and flung my arms around him and buried my face into his shirt, just like I had when I was young. "Thank you." I breathed.

"No gushy-girly stuff." He insisted, pushing me away by my shoulders and holding me at arms length. "And no more snooping in clubs."

"Yes, sir." I gave him a cocky salute.

"You sure try my nerves sometimes." He told me, shaking his head. I laughed at the familiar words. Warren had said the same thing.

"I think I do that to a lot of peoples nerves." I told him with a smirk. He laughed and ushered me back up the stairs.

I called Warren and told him he didn't have to worry about the house arrest or possibility that I would never see him again. He was just about as shocked as I was at how light the punishment was. I wished someone had been on the other side of the line taking a picture when I told him about the GPS though...I might have mention what Bruce had said while I was discussing the topic. I'm evil, I know. Gavin called later after I texted him telling him I was in town.

_"You got to come to the club tonight."_ He insisted about half a second after I got 'Hello' out of my mouth. He has the patience of an expectant mother, I swear.

"And why?" Despite his usual impatience, he wasn't typically so pushy.

_"That girl that was in my room the other day. You need to meet her."_ He told me, a spark lacing his excited voice.

He was in love again. Great.

"When?" Over the years, we had worked out this thing about his girlfriends. It was sort of an initiation of sorts for them. They pass my test, they're good.

I hadn't met one that lived up to the bar yet. Gavin would typically argue with my conclusion that she wasn't right for him and I would get to say 'I told you so' when he came to tell me his sob story as week or so later. He had held on to this one for at least four days that I knew of, maybe more. That was probably in the top five as far as the length of his relationships go.

_"In about two minutes. I'm pulling into Bruce's driveway." _If he was driving, then I know he saw the sun shining brightly. Which meant he knew exactly what time it was.

"Umm, you're a bit early, don't you think?" I asked skeptically, skipping down the stairs so I could let him in.

_"Oh, I forgot, I might be kidnapping you to help me find a gift for my mom." _He told me, a sly smile evident in his voice.

"Well, thanks for the advanced notice." I remarked in an irritated tone. I wasn't really mad, but he would know that and probably wouldn't have gave a damn if I had been angry.

_"You're welcome."_ He replied like a smart-ass. See what I mean? _"I'm walking up to the door."_

"And you can't just knock and wait because...?" I asked while thrusting my arm into a light blue jacket and hopping up and down on one foot attempting to put my shoe on.

_"Hey, you are the one complaining about advanced notices. I was just giving you what you want."_ He said innocently. _"I am knocking on your door." _

"You are impossible." I rolled my eyes after hearing the knock and jerked open the door.

"But you love me anyway." He smiled his cocky, lopsided grin that was totally Gavin, waggling his blond eyebrows at me. His hair was nearly back to normal after having been cropped off after Thanksgiving. He was wearing a dark green polo that brought out the color in his eyes and showed his trim body. I noticed he was wearing the jeans I had insisted he buy the last time I had forced him to go shopping. They fit him well, that's all I am saying.

"BRUCE, I'M GOING OUT WITH GAVIN. SEE YOU TONIGHT. AL REMIND HIM LATER." I yelled back into the house before walking out the door with Gavin. "I'm driving."

"Right. Like I would let you do that. You scare the shit out of me and my car. Why can't we take one of Bruce's cars if you want to drive?" He asked, still heading to his black Porsche in front of the mansion.

I looked at the ground and kicked a rock, "I'm grounded?"

"What the hell did you do to get grounded?" Bruce didn't know how to ground people, Gavin knew that. In fact, this was one of the very few times I was even punished slightly for my actions by Bruce. Usually, it was Clark dishing out punishments.

"I might have told him about our recent activities?" I reluctantly told him, giving him an apologetic look. Lets say I might have spilled the beans about him being in on some of it. He didn't look mad though. He did just what every best friend would and rolled his green eyes and stuck the key in the ignition.

"Let me guess, Bruce flipped." He said, turning around in the seat to look over his shoulder and pressing the gas, making us fly backwards.

"Actually," I said slowly, still trying to figure out how this next part happened. I glanced at the overhead mirror to see myself with the most confused expression in my silver eyes. "He said he was proud of me."

The car jolted as Gavin stamped the gas a little to hard before pulling out onto the road. "No shit?"

"Yeah. I was surprised. Really, really surprised." I said, then, to change the subject because I was blushing. "What's this new girl look like?"

"Perfect." He spurted before he could manage to get the wallet out of his pocket. Tossing it to me, "Look in the third pocket."

I shook my head: every girl he 'fell in love with' was 'perfect'.

Just for the record, Gavin is the reason I have vowed not to say "I love you" to any guy until I know for sure that I do actually and truly love him. And there is a difference between love and infatuation. Infatuation is what Gavin thought was love.

"You need to find a new word, that one is getti-holy cow." I barely croaked the last bit. In my hand, straight out of the third pocket of Gavin's wallet, was a picture of Gavin, smiling like and idiot, with his arm slung around none other than Teresa Zellan.

* * *

**A/N:Well? What do you think? The next chapter will probably be a while because I won't have a computer for most of the next month, but I will probably get the next two chapters written when I do get it. Love all you guys :) So, press that little button under the writing...**


	21. Yeah, Something is Definitly Wrong

**A/N: I know I said no updates for a month, but I was able to get this one in. I may have to correct somethings once I am able to get back to it, but it is working for now. Enjoy! and please REVIEW!!!**

* * *

You probably wouldn't classify what I did next as 'being pissed'...probably...but it might have been defined as 'being over-whelmed with such rage that it felt as if I would explode'...yeah, that would be better.

Gavin, who was watching the road like a good, safe driver should, didn't observe my extreme color change. In the mirror, I could see my face turn so dark of a crimson that it looked like I was some over enthusiastic fan about to go to a Reds game.

"Hot, isn't she?' Gavin asked, a foolish smile on his face.

She was about to get really, really cold. I promise. "Hot" was not going to be in her vocabulary in the near future. It was going to be "Frigid" or "Ice Cold". No "hot".

Trying not to explode when I opened my mouth, I took a deep breath and asked in a strained voice, "Do you know who the hell this is?"

"Uh...my current girlfriend?" He glanced over and swerved slightly on the road when he saw the enraged expression on my face.

"Her name, Gavin. Do you know her name?" I choked out, trying not to yell at my best friend. He wasn't the one I was mad at after all. Well, not very much anyway. He _was _the one who got himself into this. But it probably wouldn't have happened if I not been a superhero trying to find and stop the Escapees and Spawn from taking over the world.

Gavin laughed, "I would hope so. It's Sarah Laurent."

So, she hadn't used her real name.

Smart on her.

Dumb on me.

I had never told Gavin what they looked like.

You don't exactly think about your enemy tracking down your best friend and dating him to get to you. Especially when most people don't know about that best friend.

Wait...how did she find out about Gavin?

The only people that knew where Layla, Will, Warren, Ethan, Zach, and Magenta. And they weren't snitches.

Oh.

OH!

OH! That little bitch.

I knew I should have gone through the phone and punched her that day.

Just so I can get you aboard my train of thought - Ethan's double-crossing girlfriend was now my main suspect for informing the Offspring of Gavin.

He most likely told her about the club and Gavin would probably have come into the conversation, just in passing, and she had soaked the info up like sponge.

Grrr...I really don't like her.

Really, really don't like her.

Gavin, who was now parked in front of a strip of high-end stores, was looking at me as if I had gone crazy.

"Elle," he began cautiously, his face showing his confusion. "Am I missing something?"

"Something? You are missing a whole damn lot more than _something_!" I shouted before I could restrain my emotion.

"Huh?"

"This is Teresa Zellan!" I yelled, waving the picture in front of his face.

"Zellan?" Realization dawned on his face, "As in..."

"As in we are in a boat-load of trouble." I said, throwing myself back down in the seat.

"How...what...wait, I thought...huh?" He sputtered, not sure which way to take the information.

"Ethan's former girlfriend was one of the Offspring and she went and told them everything, and probably mentioned you. They wanted a hold over me." I growled. "And now they have it."

"Why?" He asked as he plucked the picture out of my hands and stared at in something near horror.

"Because they know I would never ever let anything happen to my best friend." I grumbled, refusing to look at him out of embarrassment.

"I'm a big boy, Elle. I think I can take care of myself." He chuckled lightheartedly back.

"Okay, Mr. Big Boy, how are you going to take care of yourself then?" I asked irritatedly. "How are **you **going to stop a hoard of supervillians from _kicking your **ass**_ and using you to get to me? Huh?"

"I haven't got that far yet." He admitted, opening the door and climbing out of the car.

Following him out, I joined him on the side walk and stood glowering up at the sky, which had started to release bits of snow.

"Are you mad at me or them?" Gavin asked seriously as he led me toward the store, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Them." I growled. Gavin was shifting from one foot to the other impatiently in the isle. I rolled my eyes. He didn't not do the shopping thing very well. It was pretty much limited to taking me with him and me doing his shopping. "Come on. We have to find something for your mom before we can figure any of this out."

"Oh, good." He sighed. "I was afraid you would be to mad to think and you know my shopping skills."

"No, I can surprisingly think quite clearly at the moment." I informed him curtly, walking away and expecting him to follow me to the jewelry counter. It took us all of five minutes to find a diamond encrusted necklace that was so very Mrs. Tyler.

"So, what are you getting Bruce for Christmas?" Gavin asked as he paid for the gift. He was trying to distract me now.

"What do you get a billionaire?" I grumbled, still in my bad mood.

"Socks." He said matter-of-factly as he took back the credit card, a grin on his face.

'Yes," I grinned back, despite myself. "Socks are nice."

"I got a smile." Gavin declared triumphantly to the entire store, giving a victory punch. Talk about embarrassing.

"Time to go." I pulled Gavin, who was still celebrating, out of the store and to his car. Climbing in, I put on a seat belt and turned off of the radio. "So, here's the plan."

"Hey, I thought you were leaving it up to me to come up with the plan?" Gavin pouted, turning the key.

"Yeah, well, I gave up on you." I responded flippantly. "I'm going to call Layla. Everyone is at Will's because his parents are in Rome for the day. We'll meet them there."

Gavin turned onto the road with a frown on his face"I'm not dr-"

"_I'm_driving to Maxville. You are dropping your Porche off at your house and then Bruce will come and take us back to his house before you call Teresa." I was watching his face for the reaction I would get at that last bit. I wasn't disappointed.

His eyes grew wide and blinked a couple of times and he went deathly pale, "I'm going to do what?"

"Call Teresa." I confirmed with a nod. " You are going to tell her that you are sick, the flu, the measles, whatever, then we are going to beg Bruce to let me drive back to Maxville. You probably need to pack a bag, you aren't coming back to Gotham for a few days."

"And where am I going to stay?" He asked indignantly, not sounding incredibly happy about the plan.

"Well, Warren has a guest room, I could ask him if you could stay." I told him tentatively. Gavin wasn't one to live off of the charity of others. It wounded his pride. Which, along with his ego, he kept on a very high shelf.

"Right, I'm just going to gladly go begging to Killer." He growled, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Well, seeing as it will save your butt, yeah, I would say you going to." I told him, annoyed that he was acting like a three-year-old while I was trying to keep him from being blown-up or worse.

He must have detected my vexation because he sighed and turned down the road to his house, "Alright, I'm sorry." He said begrudgingly. "I just don't like that particular part of your plan."

"Well, you should have come up with your own plan then." I carped, crossing my arms and glowering with side-glances.

Gavin could only take so much of this of course.

He would have to give in.

It would only take so long before-

"Okay, sorry...again." He sounded truthful this time.

"'S alright." I dismissed with a wave, my annoyance already flying out of the window. "You need to tell your mom that you need to tell 'Sarah' you are sick if she decides to call and confirm your 'illness'."

"Great. How am I going to explain staying at my best friend's boyfriend's house, who I really don't know, _and_ a fake illness? Huh?" Gavin asked moodily.

"You could always tell them your girlfriend isn't really who she says she is and happens to go to school with your best friend who is...oh, surprise!...a superhero, so you are faking an illness and bunking with some dude you don't really know to escape her grimy claws. How's that for a story to tell them?" I asked with a sarcastic smile.

Gavin's green eyes gave me a level look, "You're hilarious." He said dryly.

We didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the car ride. Gavin was still attempting to find something else wrong with the plan, I'm sure. I took the time to call Bruce so he could come and pick us up and I wouldn't have to walk back to the mansion.

Leaves flew into the air behind us as we pulled down the Tyler's drive. Their estate was nearly as large as Bruce's, but had a more modern look than the mansion. Gavin spun his Porche expertly into the garage and walked with me slowly to the door.

"So," He drawled, with something in the mix of his words...awe? was it? disbelief? "Did you really come up with that plan in the five minutes it took to find my mom's gift."

"Yeah," I replied simply.

"Wow." He breathed, nodding in approval.

"I know, right." I said, kind of surprised myself.

Gavin rolled his eyes and opened the door yelling, "MOM! I'm home, where are you?"

"In the library, sweetie." Mrs. Tyler answered in her musical voice. "Are you alone? I thought you were out with Elle?"

"I'm here too Mrs. Tyler!" I harked, taking off my jacket and tossing it on the coat rack.

"What are you two doing here so early?" She asked, coming out of the library with a book in hand to greet us. Upon seeing Mrs. Tyler, another outcome of this already horrible situation popped into my head.

"Uh, um, hu-huhu-HU." I started coughing, not being able to think of any other way to get away from Mrs. Tyler. "I-uhum-I am go-oh-oh-ing to ge-het some water."

Catching onto my ruse, Gavin followed me into his kitchen.

"Okay, what's going on?" He asked as soon as we stepped out of the hall.

"Snag in the plan. Has she been here?" The fact that Gavin would take her anywhere but the penthouse that he stayed in on the weekends had never crossed my mind. What if he had taken her here? Then his parents were in trouble...big trouble.

Gavin's face flashed with horror as he ran through his memories. His relaxed face told me everything was okay before his answer, "No, I only took her to the penthouse. My parents were home last weekend."

"Does she know who your dad is?" Like I said before, Gavin wasn't exactly the one to broadcast his status as Mayor's son, which as a pretty big deal in this city.

"I didn't tell her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know." I could hear traces of panic working it's way into his voice. "Elle, what if they come after my parents to get to me?"

"They shouldn't, okay, they shouldn't. Once you are in the same general area as Warren and me, I think they will focus there. His mom and I are Warren's weaknesses. His dad will probably focus on him. Since they will target me to get to him, it will be easiest to take me down first...by using you. They don't need to draw you away from me. They will want me to know when they got you." I threw out some bullshit, not knowing if what I said had one cent of truth in it.

"Right, right." Gavin said, reassuring himself more than agreeing with me.

"Go pack, I'll call Layla and Warren." I ordered, giving him something to get his mind off the fact that his parents might be in a tad bit of danger.

Once in Gavin's room, I sat Indian style on his desk and dialed Layla to see if they were, in fact, at Will's house.

The next few hours went by very fast and had little action, aside from Mrs. Tyler freaking out that Gavin's girlfriend was psycho (That's what she was told, at least. It's partly true...sorta.) and Gavin packing a duffel bag while I begged Warren to take in my best friend for a few days. It didn't take as much pleading as I thought it would...not to say that it didn't take any...it did. The most part begging and pleading though, came when I asked Bruce for the Ferrari after he came and picked us up.

He thought that it probably defied the point of being grounded. After I explained the situation, begged some more, and finally he gave in. I was loving the fact that Bruce totally doesn't get the 'grounded' concept yet.

When we reached the city limits of Maxville, I took my eyes off the road, 'seeing' with my powers. "Time to call 'Sarah'."

Gavin drew a deep breath and pulled out his phone, "Well, here goes nothing. If I get blown up, I am writing you out of my will."

"Put it on speakerphone." I whispered harshly, ignoring the last comment as the muffled rings sounded. I was hoping she wouldn't pick up while I was talking. Gavin clicked the button and held it in front of him.

_"Hello?"_ I recognized Teresa's voice echoing out of the phone.

"Hey, Sarah." Gavin answered in a wheezy, fatigued voice.

_"What's wrong with your voice?"_ She asked, still playing along with the 'Sarah' disguise, which meant she was not on to us. That or she was and didn't want us to know. I wish I could read minds sometimes.

"I'm sick." He rasped, a grin quirking up at sides of his mouth. "I don't think I should meet you at the club tonight. I don't want to get you sick, love."

I stuck a finger to my mouth and silently gagged. I can't believe he just said that. 'I don't want you to get sick, _love_.' That was enough to get _me_ sick.

_"Aww, poor baby. Are you going to be okay?"_ She cooed. What is he...three? This conversation was just annoying me.

"Yeah, it's just the flu. I get it every year." Liar. Gavin had not been sick since he got the chicken pox when he was eight.

_"Well, I hope you feel better. Remember, I still want to meet your friend. My family leaves the day before Christmas, do you think you will be better before then?"_ There! That was it! That confirmed that she didn't know we were onto her _and_ that they were still planning something on Christmas Eve.

"I don't know, it usually lasts about a week. Went do you get back after Christmas?" He asked, still in his 'sick' voice.

_"I'm not really sure, it would be better if we did it before Christmas."_ She insisted, proving she had no tact when it came to really trying to hide her intentions.

For the record, when you are trying to get someone to meet you at a club so that you can make them aware that they pretty much have your best friend around their finger, don't stress the issue. It just points out that it is really important and causes suspicion. Just so you know.

Of course, it didn't help that we already knew what she was trying to do. So, I guess we were one up on her in that sense.

"Look, Sarah, I am feeling really crappy, I think I need to let you go. I will call you tomorro-OH-hu-hu-huh." He lapsed into a coughing fit, hacked out a goodbye and hung up quickly. In his normal voice, he turned to me and said smugly, "I think she believed me."

"Me too, Now, let's go inside." He turned and looked quickly, not having realized we had been sitting at Layla's for a couple minutes already.

Without knocking, I entered the front door and yelled, "Lucy, I'm home!"

"In here." I heard Layla call back from the living room. Everyone was in there on various pieces of furniture, watching 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'. Layla and Will were addicted to those old puppets movies.

"I come bearing guests and goodies." I announced, holding up the bag with the tracking devices and pulling Gavin farther into the room. "Gavin you remember everyone? Everyone you remember Gavin."

They all nodded and I started drawing out the small, tick-sized devices and set them out on the coffee table along with the GPS tracker. "So, here are the goods...Bruce's tracking devices...each of us gets one."

"What do they do?" Zach asked.

With a little to much sarcasm, I looked him dead in the eye and said, "They make you disappear."

"Aw, shut-it." He rolled his eyes, "I meant how do they work?"

"Once activated, they will show up on this tracker, which will be with one of us at all times. Bruce also has one and they connect directly to the Watchtower." I rattled off all the features. "You put them on with this adhesive."

"Lovely." Layla said, wrinkling her nose. "Couldn't we just put them on a piece of jewelry or something? Like the camera's were?"

"That would be great except that that would be the first thing any serious criminal would know to get rid of." I pointed out. "These however, would be a lot less likely to spot."

"So, they are just stuck on us after that...forever?" Magenta asked, picking one up carefully to examine it.

"No," I said, "There is stuff to take it off with."

"Cool. It's water-proof, right?" Ethan inquired, also looking at one.

I grinned, we all think so alike sometimes, "Yeah."

"Let's get these on then."

You would not even believe how problematic it is to attach eight devices (Bruce gave me an extra for Gavin before we left). Getting adhesive onto the back of someone's ear was bad enough without having to worry about the fact that two out of three times, we ended up gluing their ear to their head and we would have to use some of the detaching stuff to get it unstuck. Yeah, I hate to admit it, but we did that...four times. Awful, I know.

We had just got through that fiasco when Warren's cell phone rang. His mom.

"Yeah, he's here." Warren said after answering. "Okay, we'll come...Alright, mom, I said we would come. We are walking out of the door. No, Mom, we really are." He motioned for me and Gavin to follow his lead toward the door. I said goodbye to everyone and tossed Gavin his coat. Warren, a hand resting on the small of my back, ushered me out of the door, dropping me off at the Ferrari with a kiss before making his way to his motorcycle. I could still here him talking on the phone. "Mom, I can't drive a motorcycle and talk on the phone at the same time. Bye."

I chuckled, falling into the seat and turning the key as the door shut. "Buckle up, dear." I said sweetly to Gavin. He just rolled his eyes and laughed.

We reaching Warren's in about two minutes, his mom was already waiting for us at the front door.

"Hello, dear! How are you today?" She asked sweetly.

"Well, I found out that my girlfriend is not who she says she is, has superpowers, is a villian, and has it out for my best friend...I'm doing alright." He replied with a wide smile. Mrs. Peace looked like she didn't know exactly how to respond, then broke into a fit of laughter. Gavin grinned wider and followed Warren's mom into the living room. She gave him the grand tour while Warren and I tagged along.

"This will be your room." Mrs. Peace opened the door to the guest room. Gavin had successfully charmed her by now. He does that to every woman he meets...except me of course. He never was able to do that to me, maybe that is why we are such good friends.

"Looks good." He said, turning to look at the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was nervous. Warren ran his hand through his hair when he was nervous, worried, or agitated. Gavin stuffed his hands into his pockets. It was just his quirk.

"Don't worry," I whispered as we left the room. "Warren promised he wouldn't kill you in your sleep. Now, all you have to worry about it the other sixteen or so hours you are awake."

Gavin gave a nervous laugh, but looked as if he wasn't sure whether I was joking or not.

I was.

But he didn't know that.

--------

"Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another." Warren read aloud in his deep, soothing voice. Him reading to me had become my favorite past-time, usually because it put me to sleep. Today, he was reading The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with me curled up against his side, snuggling into his chest while he had his long legs stretch out in front of him on his bed. On top of the covers of course.

"Elle! Elle! Guess what?" Layla came barreling into Warren's room.

"They invented this newly fangled invention called a lock and you are getting Warren one for Christmas?" I asked sarcastically, uncurling myself and stretching.

"No...wait, yeah, no!" Layla verbally stumbled, trying to answer the statement. I rolled my eyes and sat up cross-legged next to Warren, who was glaring at Layla, his book still poised in front of him. "Dang it, what was I talking about?"

"It started, 'Elle! Elle! Guess what?'. If that helps." I said, knowing that was probably not really relevant to the 'what'.

But, apparently Layla can disipher something from that. "Oh, yeah," And you could practically see the lightbulb. "My mom just called and she got us all tickets for that concert in Gotham tomorrow."

There was a big Christmas concert in the complex at the park with all these local and famous artists and groups coming. It was going to rock. And tickets had been sold out for a month.

"Awesome!" I exclaimed, bouncing excitedly on the bed. "How did she get them?"

"Radio. They were giving away exactly eight tickets. Isn't that great?" She squealed, the skin on her face stretched from the ear to ear smile she wore.

"Totally." I replied, hearing Warren mutter something under his breath about my bouncing. My girl mode clicked in, "What are we going to wear?"

"No. No. No. Out, not in my room. I am NOT listening to that in here." Warren bellowed, rising from the bed, taking me with him and pushing both of us out of the door.

"Aww, come on Hotshot, don't you want to just be wrapped up in the midst of all this girl talk." I cooed, turning on him and placing my arms around my neck.

"No," He growled, removing my arms. "I don't."

"Well, be prissy about it, why don't you!" I joked. He glared at me, not allowing me to remove my hands from his grip.

"Do you two ever stop fighting about stupid stuff?" Layla asked exasperatedly, making me turn to see that she was still standing by the door.

"No." Warren and I replied simotamiously, laughing as he wrapped his arms around me.

Layla rolled her eyes and said, "I'm going back down stairs. You two _are _worse than me and Will, I don't care what you guys say."

-------

Around five the next day, all of us girls were at Layla's getting ready for the concert. Our last hurrah for all we knew. Tomorrow probably wouldn't be that great. Sure we were ready as we could be for it, the Justice League knew, and we all had trackers on. But you know how quickly things can go wrong.

The boys were at Warren's house, watching, of all things, a football game. And Gavin was right in the middle of them. He hated football. I think it had something to do with the male bonding thing. They had agreed to meet us in Gotham at seven.

"Elle, I think you should wear the sweater. Much cuter." Layla said, holding it up in the air in front of me. I took it, modeling it against me in the mirror. Yes, definitely cuter. The rest of my outfit consisted of tight gray straight leg jeans tucked into flat, black, calf-high suede boots. The sweater Layla suggested was a deep royal blue turtle neck.

"Your right." I nodded, pulling off the black top I had on and donning the new one. "Magenta, I think this would look better with that skirt."

I pulled a black long sleeve shirt with a purple heart sewn haphazardly on the side.

"Sit, so I can braid your hair." Layla ordered, forcing me down in a chair before I could comply. When she was finished nearly pulling my scalp off, I had a long, silver French braid running down the length of my back. Her own hair was failing in soft, copper curls around her shoulders. Magenta had her hair up in pig-tails with her bangs framing her face.

For some reason, I was taking what everyone looked like into account more often these days. Weird I know. I think it was because I was really getting worried. I know, I know. So not Elle to be worried. But I was. These were my friends, I loved them. I didn't want to lose them to a few mutant maniacs who were a little power hungry. I esspecially didn't want to lose Warren. Two months was nothing compared to some realationships, but I really, really liked him. You know my toughts about the big 'L' word or I would say that.

Sometimes I stopped and wondered if this would even be happening to them, though, if I had never accidentally froze the Watchtower and got myself sent here. That was when I would just stop thinking. It did me no good to think 'what if's' all day.

"Earth to Elle." Magenta was waving a hand in my face. "We've only been talking to you for the last five minutes."

"Sorry, I was...thinking." I said drearily. Both of their faces sobered and I immediately felt horrible for pulling their moods down. "Don't worry about it. Not tonight."

"Alright." Layla chirped, happy to lose the topic. "Ready to leave?"

"Si, senorita." I said, grabbing my keys and heading out the door.

We called back to check on the boys once we were in Gotham. They were still watching the game, but ready to go when it finished. I was still in the Ferrari, so Layla and Magenta were kind of stuffed into the seat and complaining that they were not going to be sitting like that on the way back. Heading off confrontation, I stopped by Bruce's before going to the park. If they could complain about having no room while riding up to the concert in Bruce's Escalade, they had problems.

While we waited for the boys to get there, we mingled with other concert goers, many of whom I knew from spending time in Gotham's underage clubs. It was seven fifteen when I looked at the clock on my phone.

They were late.

They hadn't called.

Layla must have noticed something about the look on my face and asked what was wrong.

"Has Will called you?" I knew he hadn't, but I was hoping that he had called when I hadn't been paying attention or talking to someone.

"No. Why?" She asked, not realizing the fact that he hadn't was strange. The color drained from her face when I showed her my phone. "Do you think something is wrong?"

No, not think. Knew. I knew something was wrong. Warren called when he was going to be late. Gavin, now I could see him not calling me. He only did that when he would be over an hour. But not Warren. Warren would have called.

"Yeah, I do." I told her seriously. "Get Magenta. We need to find somewhere to look at the GPS."

"Right." Layla grabbed Magenta and explained what was going on while following me through the crowd. I found a corner coffee shop and flung open the door, GPS already in my hand. The patrons of the shop all turned to look at the three of us. I can only imagine what we looked like. Scared shitless most likely.

"Just because they haven't called doesn't mean..." Magenta's speech slowed to a halt as we all stared in horror at the GPS.

Four dots were moving.

Toward Downtown. Away from Gotham.

The other dot was stationary. In Maxville.

No one was where they were surpossed to be.

"Something is definitely wrong." I said grimly, looking from one to the other.

* * *

**A/N: Well, scared yet? I know for a fact that it will be awhile before I update this time. In the mean time, you can send me lovely reviews to lighten my day. Or you can send me bad reviews if you really just hate this story, but I kind of hope the last one isn't the case.**


	22. I Make the Rules

**A/N: Sorry it took so long guys, I had way to much going on and this is an incredibly looonnnggg chapter....9,245 words to be exact. Enjoy!**

* * *

The only person who could have moved faster than we did out of the coffee shop and toward the Escalade was Flash. And even then he would have only been half a step ahead.

I had the keys in the ignition and engine on before I could close the door.

"Buckle up." I advised my friends, already shifting into reverse and fishtailing out.

"Elle. This isn't the way to Maxville." Layla pointed out loudly over the blare of honking cars.

I wasn't listening. My brain was working in overdrive trying to figure something out.

"It's the twenty-third. They're early." I said aloud, more to myself than anybody. "Why are they early?"

"Elle!" Magenta screamed in my ear, leaning forward from the back seat. "Where are you going?"

"I suggest you buckle up." I told her as we screeched into a hairpin turn. In a SUV. "Why leave one person?"

Layla banged her fist on the dash, trying to get my attention, "Where. Are. You. Going?"

"To get a car." I said dismissively, swinging into the drive and coming to a halt in front of the garage. "I bet it's Gavin. No reason to take the powerless guy when my link is now with Warren. No fun in taking someone who doesn't stand a chance at escaping."

Though, totally worth a good fight. He could probably beat the snot out of half my class. Sans superpowers and all.

"To get a _car_?" Layla asked in a very stunned and completely disgusted voice. She and Magenta were at my heels as I jogged toward the garage doors. "Elle, their_ lives_ are at stake and you are worried about the kind of _car_ you are driving?"

"No." I felt around in the dim light for the handle, thanking the Lord that I had left the place unlocked. "But I am worried about being able to get there in that one."

Both stared at me with the most confused looks as I jerked the door upward, cursing myself for leaving the remote to the heavy thing behind.

"There's no gas in the Escalade. No gas. No go." I pointed out, skimming my fingers over the key rack trying to decide which was the fastest one I could get without Bruce killing me if it was nothing more than a crushed metal ball by tomorrow.

Not the Lamborghini.

Bruce would definitely kill me if I wrecked the Lamborghini.

The Bugatti Veyron was out. That was the most expensive thing in here.

Ferrari was at a half-tank from the ride over here and I had to get back to Maxville and then to Downtown.

"What about that?" Layla said, pointing to a far corner. There was a black tarp with a big silver bow on top. Not wasting time, I ran to it and jerked off the tarp to reveal a car that wasn't actually supposed to be in general production for a year. An Aero was pretty much the fastest thing I could ask for.

"Oh, Bruce, you rock." I squealed, seeing the card in the front seat that had my name on it and the words 'Merry Christmas'.

Layla was still gawking.

"Get in." I ordered, pulling the door up and falling in myself. Layla went around to the other side and surveyed the very tight seating arrangements.

"No way we are both sitting in here." Magenta told me.

"Well, there is if one of you were say...a guinea pig?" I couldn't believe I was joking at a time like this. What can I say? It's what I do. Magenta was giving me a 'Go to Hell' look as I turned the key and saw that the tank was full. Thank you!

"I'm going to kill you for this." Magenta squeaked for the umpteenth time. She was held tightly in Layla's arms. Layla herself was strapped to the seat with the same type of buckles used by fighter jet pilots. I had a feeling those were Bruce's idea.

"Whatever you say." I said, trying not to smile. A glance at the speedometer told me I needed to go faster...so I did.

We reached Warren's house and the stationary dot in half an hour. A new record for me.

Warren's mom's car was gone and I recalled her telling Warren she was going to be over at a neighbor's house for a Christmas party.

She didn't even know her house had been attacked.

It was very obvious that Warren and Will had put up one heck of a fight. There was no door. Well, there was...it was just not in the right place. Try the tree. Yeah. The paneling on the house was slightly scorched in places where it seemed fireballs had landed.

"Stay behind me." I whispered. For all I knew, they had left someone behind.

Not that our arrival hadn't been totally obvious, but it was a little late to worry about that.

We crept toward the door and stood flush against the frame before peeping in, surveying the obviously clear scene, and ducking in.

The room was empty.

The room where the signal was coming from was empty.

Well...damn.

"Where is he?" I growled. They had stuffed my best friend somewhere and I was going to be seriously pissed if they made it impossible to find him. "Stuffed under the couch?"

"Maybe the tracker fell off." Magenta suggested, looking under the couch just for good measure.

"You would have to have an atomic bomb to dislodge that thing without that dehesive junk." I said climbing the stairs. Maybe he was in the room above and the tracker was just confused. It could happen.

The hallway was empty as well.

Disgruntled and completely confused, I walked back down the stairs to the where Layla and Magenta were standing, just as bewildered, in the middle of the living room.

"What...what if it's not Gavin?" Layla asked.

"Yes, well, it's not anybody at the moment. There is no one here." I threw up my hands. "Could they make him disappear? Did they melt him and put him..."

"Ethan!" We all exclaimed at once.

"Check all the vases. They must have trapped him in something."

We spent the next ten minutes usurping the many vases that Mrs. Peace had stocked the living room with. The woman has way to many just so you know. One we found held four cell phones. Warren's was missing. I thought seriously about calling it before thinking better of it. If he happened to have it, it would better if I didn't call and let them know that he did.

"Guys, you have to help me with this one." Magenta grunted, attempting (and failing) to turn over a six foot tall decorative urn that looked like it weighed a ton.

The three of us used a little elbow grease and pushed over the urn, which fell with a heavy thump. There was a pillow stuffed in the top.

"That's not suspicious." I said sarcastically, kneeling to pull it out.

Orange goo oozed out and began to form into a fifteen year old boy.

"I dot du woub neber finb be." Ethan was sporting a black eye and bloody nose.

"What happened?" I asked, dragging him to the couch and forcing him to sit.

"Well, we obened de door and der dey were." He said, tilting his head back to stop the blood from coming out his nose.

"Don't do that. You'll drown." I snapped, pulling his head back to it's normal position, "Who and how many. Did anything seem strange?"

"Carbin and his dab. I dink Shoals and his bom. Mason and two other dyes. And den Barron Babble." He said, pinching the nose. "Eighd. Udder dan dem being here? Dothing. All norbal."

I was still asking the 'Why not Gavin?' question. Seriously? With Warren, they didn't need Gavin to lure me out.

"You good enough to go get them or do you need to stay here?" I asked, already pulling the keys out of my pocket.

"I'm goben wid du!" He said, letting go of his nose to see if it was still bleeding.

"Okay. You need to melt then. You can just chill in the floor board or something." I told him as I walked out the door, expecting them to follow.

Once everyone was all nice and strapped in, I backed out with a squall of the tires. "Layla, try those buttons under the radio."

Now that I had taken time to look at the inside of the car, I saw four buttons that looked a little out of place for a normal car.

She pressed a green one. The car gave a jerked and I realized turbo boosters of some kind were in the back.

Ahh, this was Bruce's handy work. Should have known he wouldn't give me just a plain old car.

"Turn those off. Control is hard on these small streets." I told her. She pressed it again and we slowed again.

The next one was blue. When she pressed it, I thought nothing happened.

Then the front of the car disappeared and I could see the street flying where it should have been.

"Okay, no need for that. I kinda want people to know we are coming so that they can get out of the way." I told her.

Upon pressing the next button, the orange one, a two guns popped up on the hood. Heavy duty looking suckers too. A small computer screen ejected from the CD player and automatically positioned itself so that I could see a target screen over the view in front of me.

"Yeah, turn that off before police _really_ notice us." She nodded, her eyes staring wide at the disappearing guns.

"Try that yellow one." She did. The former target screen showed a static-filled screen then clear to show Flash grinning in at us from the Watchtower.

"Hey, duchess? Like the present?" He asked, his smile widening. "Just so you know, I can out run whatever speed you are going in it."

"I know you can. Is Bats up there?" I asked, zipping around a semi using my 'water vision' as I looked at the screen.

"Again with the ignoring. Can't you just call to talk to me sometime?" He asked, pouting.

"When I call up there for something other than an emergencies, I will just talk your little head off. Right now. I need Bruce." I told him in an urgent tone.

He rolled his eyes and pushed the comm button, "Brucey, Duchess is here for you. Something about an emergency?"

Not thirty seconds later, Batman's face filled the screen, "You're driving the Aero. You had the Escalade earlier. What's going on?"

He didn't even bother to ask how I got the car or where I was. I guess he didn't need to.

"We came to Gotham before the boys. They were supposed to meet us at seven. At seven fifteen, no boys. Checked the tracker. One dot in Maxville. The others headed to downtown. We went by Warren's to check on the one. It was Ethan. Black eye, bloody nose, nothing serious. We are all headed to Downtown. They have Gavin." I told him, trying to control my road rage...there was a grandma driving on the two lane road and there was to damn much oncoming traffic.

"Wait for back-up." He ordered as I hit the turbo boosters and gunned it around the old lady on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm really going to do that." I drawled sardonically, shutting off the boosters.

"Elle. I demand that you stop that car and wait for back-up." He yelled through the monitor. Wow, he was really worried.

I grinned evilly, "Forget to install an override system, Bruce? Or was there just no room beside the rotating hood guns?"

"Elle!" He shouted threateningly.

"Goodbye, Bruce." I said grimly, tapping the orange button again.

"I can't believe you just did that." Layla told me, her eyes wide with shock. Guinea Pig Magenta agreed.

"He'll get over it. Besides, he knows about the building and has tags on us. Check the tracker to make sure that's where they went." I pulled the device out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Yeah, they are. Do you-" She was interrupted by my cell phone.

"Probably Bruce, telling me how much trouble I'm in." I grinned, pulling out the phone. I glanced down at the name. "It's Warren." I managed to whisper. "H-hello?"

"Hello, deary." A voice that sent shivers down my shivers drawled trough the phone. "I am guessing you are coming to pay us a visit?"

"You could say that." I said once I found that I could speak.

"Didn't anyone every tell you it was rude not to call before coming over? It's a matter of manners, you see." This guy was a maniac. "Now, do I want my son dating a girl without manners? I don't want your bad habits rubbing off on him."

Anger rose in me, "Oh, go to h-"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Temper, temper." He said in a gruff, sing-song voice. "You don't want me to get angry, now do you? I might have to take it out on someone. And since you're not handy, the nearest person will do. Oh, look, I happen to be standing next my dear, dear son."

"You're sick." I spat, immediately regretting it when I heard a cry of agony.

Warren should be immune to his powers right?

Right?

I felt a sinking feeling in my gut as I recalled a conversation Warren had with his mom in the hospital.

__

" I'm a pyrokinetic. I

control

_ fire."_

"Stop it!" I screamed into the phone.

"Oh, does that scare the little ice girl? Afraid I will kill your squeeze? Don't worry. I won't do that until you're here to watch. After all, it's much more enjoyable to watch the movie rather than just listen to the soundtrack." He cackled, "Ta-ta, now. See you soon."

Warren's screams were abruptly silenced when he hung up the phone.

"Elle. What's going on?" Layla asked, worried. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"It was Battle. He's insane, Lay. Completely insane." I told her, tears coming to my eyes as Warren's screams rang out in my head over and over like a broken record.

"Let's just hurry." Coming from Layla, the small, unnecessary phrase was comforting. I swallowed down the tears and nodded.

Just five minutes later, we were swinging into a parallel parking spot in front of the abandoned office building the Basher had accidentally informed us about.

"Where are they?" I asked Layla, who was holding the device.

"One on the second floor. Two on the fifth. One on the tenth." She told me, looking up at the building, wondering which one was Will and if he was alright, I'm sure. "To bad we don't know where the others are."

"That's my job." I smirked, feeling the water in the building.

No one was on the first floor.

"I think it's Will on the second floor." I told them. "They have him pinned to a wall with metal braces, must be Michaels doing. There are two men and a woman there."

"Is he okay?" Layla asked, gripping my arm.

I felt the water in the air around him moving in forceful waves out of his mouth. "He's screaming. There's blood. I think that Derek Mason is one of the men."

"Oh," Layla gasped. "Elle, we have to hurry."

"I know. We have to figure out where everyone is." I explained, just as anxious as she was to get to Warren. "No one is on the third. Wait...no...there are is a cat on both the north and south stairway moving between the third and fourth floor. Fifth floor. It must be Zach and Gavin there. Both are pinned like Will."

"Who's with them?" Magenta asked. I could tell she wanted to get to Zach as much as I wanted to get to Warren.

"Both Zellan's and the younger Carvin." I told her, feeling two women floating in mid-air and sensing a newspaper double, rise, and then double again. Carvin must have been really bored. "The rest of them are moving between the seventh and ninth floors. Can't really tell who is who. Theo Mason's zipping around on the eighth. Someone keeps going through the walls. That must be Alex Pike. The way the air's moving on the ninth I would say one of them is Talon McGarvin. Then there are two more on the same floor, a man and woman. And then one more on seven."

"Where's Warren's dad?" Layla whispered, as if saying his name meant something bad would happen.

I moved up to the ninth floor. "He's alone with Warren on ten."

"Is that everybody?" Ethan asked.

"Fifteen. Yeah, that's all of them." I nodded, looking around for a big puddle. I had myself a plan. Finding a good size one, I pulled the water to me and made a disk like the day at the theme park, only bigger because I was putting four people on it. "Hop on. We're going for a ride."

"Shouldn't we have some sort of plan?" Magenta asked, tentatively stepping onto my ice disk.

Plan? What plan? Who needs a plan?

"Wing it?" And off she stepped.

"No." She shook her head and crossed her arms. She had to go and be sensitive about this. "I am not just barreling in there."

"We weren't." I smirked, "We were going to float in."

"Not the time, Elle." Layla warned. "What's the plan?"

"Go after Zach and Gavin first. They are have the least powerful guards and probably the weakest bonds. When we get them, we will go after Will, it will be easier to go down because there aren't as many as going up and we know for sure Will is hurt. When we get to him, we will try to get him free. If we don't do it fast enough, I will go after Warren myself." I told them seriously.

"Good plan." Layla remarked, knowing that I was sacrificing a lot to go after her boyfriend before mine. We knew Warren was probably hurt, too.

"Then let's go." They all stepped onto the disk and I forced it up into the air.

We landed on the empty sixth floor and I instantly realized why it was empty. It was full of C-4.

"Oh, shit." I whispered, looking around at the room. A spark would send us halfway to the Watchtower.

"Uh-huh." Ethan nodded, looking wide eyed at the explosives.

"Okay, so, new plan." I remarked. "We get Zach and Gavin out and then you go to Will and I will bring Gavin back up here and take care of this."

The was a black box with wires that I assumed was the timer. No numbers. They must have planned on blowing it after midnight...and leaving us in here to die.

"When we get down there, it will probably alert a few people. Watch out for the cats. They will probably be coming." I warned as I walked toward the stairs, the only way down.

"Why can't you just freeze the building?" Ethan asked. Good idea...until you stopped to think about it. Which I had.

"Because when I do that, I can't control who gets frozen and who doesn't. It's just everybody." They gave me a 'yeah-duh' look. "And it would be me and Warren, whose tied up, against his dad, Alex Pike, and the two Zellans if they were in the air when I did it. Not good odds if they get to me before I can unfreeze you. Then Battle could go around unfreezing anyone he wanted and ta-da we're screwed."

"Good point." Ethan remarked as I looked for something to wedge in front of the door so it wouldn't shut and put the cat on us before we got to the next floor. "Why you and Gavin?"

"He knows how to disable a bomb." I said simply. Why else would I want him? Comic relief? Not really. I spotted an old book lying on the floor and wedged it behind us as we came into the landing.

Three pairs of eyes gave me disbelieving looks.

"Long story." I dismissed in a whisper as we crept silently down the stairs. I was praying that whichever Shoal was down this particular stairwell wouldn't smell us. We all froze when we heard the approaching click of claws on the concrete steps. Holding our breathes, we pressed ourselves against the wall. Our pounding heartbeats seemed to echo through the stairwell as we listened to the pacing directly on the floor below. After a few minutes, the clicks went down the stairs and we were able to move.

"Go." I mouthed, pointing to the door that lead to the fifth floor. I wasn't sure what we were going to find on the other side.

Peeking through the wire-braced glass, I saw Teresa talking to Carvin and her mother floating around in front of Zach, who was letting off a faint glow in the dimness. They had set up light temporary lights so that they could see us.

Motioning for the others to look in, I stepped back, trying to decided how we could do this without alerting both Shoals. The one on this stairwell would hear the door close and be in before the fight even started. And how were we going to break the metal bonds? I started to think it should have been Will we went after first.

"Once we go in, get away from the door, the cat will come running through as soon as it closes. I don't know how we are going to break the bonds once we take them down though." I whispered.

"I can deal with the bonds." Layla said, surprising me.

"How?" I asked. I had to know.

"My plants. I have some seeds in my pocket. The vines will be strong enough to pull the metal apart." She told me. Impressive. Very impressive.

"Alright, then once we got toward them we don't have much time before the cat comes so take them down with a few good punches. Dang, I could really use some rope." I remarked. Why didn't I think of that? You always need rope in situations like this.

"Uh, will vines work for that, too?" Layla was a genius.

"Yes. Take them down. If I have to I can ice them. Carvin will be easy to take out that way, but the Zellans will be harder because I have to anchor them to the ground or the ice around them will just break when they fall out of the sky."

"You really think about how to use your power way too much." Ethan shook his head, grinning. The clicks started to sound again. I pressed a finger to my lips and remained as still as possible. We waited until they left and then I pointed to the door and mouthed 'Charge!'

We rushed in the room, taking them completely by surprise. The two second shock delay gave us enough time to get away from the door before it slammed and we were already in a full out brawl before I head it being ripped off of its hinges. Around me, Zach and Gavin were yelling and cheering, Ethan was dodging flying objects, Layla and Magenta were fully engaged with Laura Zellan, and Tersea was swooping in on me and attempting to kick me in the face. She smiled and dropped to the floor, looking over my shoulder.

"Oh, your boyfriend is here, right?" I said, smirking, before I turned so that I had before the stalking cat and Zellan in my view. "Carvin. Shoals. Gavin. Wow, you get around."

"Shut-up!" She barked, her eyes glancing over at Carvin to see if he had heard.

"Oh...that would be bad if he knew, wouldn't it?" I asked deviously. Over my shoulder in a sing-song voice, I said, "Oh, Carvin."

The sound of projectiles hitting the wall stopped.

"You want to know something about your little girlfriend?" I questioned. An evil smile eased its way onto my lips as I looked back at him and whispered scandalously, "She has a man on the side."

"Tyler was a just part of the plan." He told me, angered that I had been able to distract him.

"Oh, it wasn't Gavin." I informed him, watching Tersea's face go pale.

"What?" Carvin's attention was on me again. I could no longer hear Laura Zellan fighting with Layla and Magenta, which meant that she had been overtaken or they had all stopped to watch.

"I can see why she did it of course." I went on knowing I had taken my audience captive with my speech. Circling around as I spoke, I could see that Layla and Magenta had taken Mommy Zellan down and were working on the boys bonds. I needed to give them more time. Ethan was standing close enough to me that I didn't feel like I totally facing the three Offspring by myself. As I passed him, Shoals morphed back into a muscled teenage boy and I smirked at him, "I mean, why take a hamburger when you can have steak?"

"You're lying." Carvin spat, but something in his tone let me know that he was getting worried.

"Yes, she is." Teresea growled, lunging at me. I stepped aside and she fell right into Shoals arms. His arms slid around her like it was a routine. Like it was normal. Like it was supposed to be that way. And just to top it off, Zellan leaned into his chest just a little too long and his arms were wrapped around her just a little too tight.

They so walked, or should I say _fell_, right into that one.

Carvin's face darken and he let out a feral yell and the next thing I knew a desk...let me say that again-A DESK was flying through the air. At Shoals and Zellan!

Heck, my opponents were fighting the battle for me.

Not that I was complaining.

Shoals pulled Teresea with him as he dodged the desk. Then vines were flying through the air and the three were left looking like trussed up hogs at a barbeque.

"Lovely Layla, simply lovely." I commented, grinning at her. Shoals morphed, breaking his vine-ropes in the process. With a flick of my hand, he was an ice cube.

"Why, thank you. I must say, your handiwork is quite impressive as well." She responded with a giggle. Gavin was standing near her, glaring at 'Sarah'.

"Come on, Gavin." I beckoned him toward me with a crooked finger. Pulling his eyes away, he came toward me, a befuddled look on his face.

"Elle, why did they take me?" He whispered. Great minds think alike.

I shook my head, "I don't know."

"They had Warren, they didn't need me to get you to come." He told me. Wow. Deja vu. Had I not said the same thing.

"I know, I'm not-" A loud bang came from the opposite stairwell's metal door. A giant cat bounded at me and Gavin, who were closest to it.

Without thinking, I blasted it with ice and Anna Shoals was frozen mid-stride, her front paw extended out at my throat.

"Okay, time to go." Ethan squeaked.

"Yes, I would say it was." I agreed. In stairway, I pulled Gavin up to the sixth floor.

"What about them? Aren't you and Layla the only ones with big superpowers?" Gavin asked in a low voice. True story. But, honestly, I think between the four of them, they can kick some butt.

"You don't need to worry about them." I assured him. "Besides, there is no one between the fourth or third. All they have to worry about are the ones with Will."

"Oh. Where are we going?" He asked before I pushed him through propped open door. He stopped short a step inside, making me run head first into him. "Oh, shit."

"You wouldn't believe how many of my words you have repeated over the very same things." I chortled. "Timer's over here."

Gavin stooped down to look at it. "Any wire cutters?"

"Yeah, here, let me pull them out of my imaginary tool belt." I said, sarcasm dripping off of my words. "No, there are no wire cutters."

"Then I would say our best bet is to get out the building before it blows." He told me bluntly.

What?! my brain screamed. We had no clue when that might be.

I was going through options in my head as fast as I could:

__

What did we have?

To much C-4, that's what.

What else?

Nothing in here, that's for sure.

My car, though.

Layla's Purse.

Purse!

There were nail clippers in Layla's purse!

"Be right back!" I yelled before diving out the window, gathering ice under myself so that I came to a soft landing by the car. Pulling the door up, I found Layla's purse in the floorboard and dumped the contents in my seat, retrieved the nail clippers, and jumped on the ice disk I had ready. He met me at the window with the most shocked expression on his face.

"You just_ jumped_ out that window." I smiled and handed him the pair of nail clippers. "And now I am trying to decide whether you are crazy or a genius."

"Truthfully," I grinned at him while he carefully looked at the wires on the box. "I think it might be a little bit of both. Are those going to work?"

"We'll know in a second." He told me, popping open the box with the file hook attached to the clippers.

"How?" I asked out of habit.

He abandoned the task momentarily to look up at me giddily, "When everything doesn't go '_boom_'."

"Good way to test it." Really, really good way. Don't you think?

"I know." Gavin said, scanning the wires. His finger settled on the red one.

Why is it always the red one? Why can't it be purple? Or blue? Blue is pretty.

"Here goes nothing." He muttered, taking a deep breath, setting the clippers around the wire, closing his eyes (yes, CLOSING HIS EYES. How comforting is that?), and pressing on the levers. With a sharp 'snap' the wire was cut clean through.

...Nothing.

Compulsively, I threw my arms around my best friend, tackling him to the ground. "I love you!"

"You should." He said mockingly, wrapping an arm around me. "I just saved your ass."

"Yeah, only because I found the nail clippers." I told him, as he pulled me up with him as he rose.

"We need to get you to Warren...and figure out why exactly I'm here." Gavin added, obviously disgruntled by the unknown reason they had brought him along. "You don't think they found out about my parents, do you?"

"No." I said confidently and pulled him out the door.

A noise caught my attention.

"Hold on. Don't move." I whispered, placing a halting hand on Gavin's chest.

A familiar voice floated up from below us. It was answered by a male voice.

"That's Layla and Will!" I said excitedly. "They got him out!"

We stayed put on the stairwell, waiting for them to come up. And they had to try and be 'stealthy'.

Let me tell you...it didn't work.

A deaf bat could have seen them coming.

Yeah, that didn't make since...but you get the point.

They were loud. Very loud.

"Will you guys just get up here? I yelled down the opening down the inside banister. I heard a yelp and then running footsteps.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, still clutching her heart.

"Awhile and we needed to hurry." I told her. Will was standing by Layla's side, "You alright?"

"I'm great." Will said a little too over-enthusiastically. I didn't believe him. "Let's go get Warren."

"Right." I agreed. "So, who was down there with you, Will?"

"Derek Mason." So, I was right. "Maria Lench. She heard you drive up, could hear everything you were saying. You really shocked her, though. She thought you all just disappeared. She could only hear you when you were on the ground and passing the third floor, then poof. Joseph Michaels was down there, too. They figured you would just walk up through the front door and find me. Then Michaels would wrap you up and that would be it."

"So, they were just luring us here to blow us up." I surmised. "Lovely."

"Then why didn't they come up after us?" Ethan asked him. Good question? Why didn't they?

"They thought that if the ones on five didn't get you, the Shoals would. Then they would just sound the call and everyone would leave." Will told his, gritting his teeth when he took a deep breath.

"Your hurt." I said, not even bothering to make it a question.

"Yeah, happened at Warren's. It's nothing." He said as Layla started toward him, eyeing the spot on his ribs where his hand was tenderly pressed.

"Right." She quipped shortly, sounding eerily similar to my sarcastic tone, pulling his hand away. Carefully pulling up his shirt, she gasp when she saw the bloody wound on his ribs.

"It's fine, Layla." Will assured her, attempting to pull his shirt back down. Finally, he jerked it out of her grasp and drew her up to kissed her cheek. "Promise."

"You-" Layla started, her temper rising with the deep angry breathe she took.

"Just leave it Layla. If he says he's alright, he's alright." I stopped her. Did they remember that my boyfriend was being held captive on the tenth floor? He was! "What's the battle plan?"

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes.

Right. So, Elle, what's the battle plan?

I don't know, Elle. Why don't you just fly in guns blazing and see how it turns out.

Yeah. I was talking to myself. Shut-up.

"Alright. George Michaels is on the seventh. Alex Pike's with Theo Mason on eighth. They have Lisa Carvin, Sam Carvin Sr., and Talon McGarvin on ninth. Baron Battle has Warren alone on tenth." I rattled off, putting the people into place that I hadn't been able to figure out earlier.

"Okay, I'll take Ethan and head up to the ninth floor. Layla and Magenta go to the eighth. Elle, go get Warren. Gavin, watch her back." Will took over, giving orders. I was just about to point out the flaw in his plan when he realized it himself. "Crap. That leaves Michaels' dad. I'll take him out then we will go up there. I'll just fly in and I guess knock him out since his power is telepathic."

You know, little pieces of information like that just make me happy that I go to a superhero school. How else would I know that making the earth under someone's feet move is telepathic?

"It shouldn't take too long for you to take down Pike and Mason, so Layla, you and Magenta meet Ethan and me on the ninth floor.

"Okay. Break!" I clapped my hands together, already heading up the stairs with Gavin right behind me.

Suddenly, two flights up, a man popped out of the wall. Layla and Magenta were right behind Gavin and I heard him tell them to get into the room before this guy got back in.

He was throwing a punch my way before I realized it was Alex Pike. Gavin pushed me aside before I could bloke him and received the punch in his jaw. He stepped back, but retained his balance. Their fist fight gave me time to recall Pike's information. Intangible except in water.

I could do that.

Building up the ice floor and wall of my trap, I tried to keep an eye on Gavin. He was doing pretty well. Pike kept going through the wall and coming out in a different place. "Hey, when you can, get him over this way."

Gavin shook his head to recover from another blow and flashed a glare at me, "Yeah, I'll get right on that.

Rolling my eyes, I turned away from him and gathered as much water as I could from the air and pulled some from snow outside through cracks in the wall. I stepped back, examining my work.

It was a double ice box. The inner layer was free floating and big enough to hold a man. The outer layer was about six inches from all sides of the inner box. Between the two would be where the water would be. With Pike in the box, it would make the ice box inside sink enough to not touch the top when I released my power that made it hover like it did now.

"Gavin, I need him in there now." I yelled as I filling the area in between with water, pushing it away around the fourth and incomplete wall so that I could get Pike in there before sealing it.

"You want to help?" He asked breathlessly, dodging a kick from Pike as he popped out of the wall. When Pikes back was to me, Gavin ran forward and shoved before Pike could go intangible. I stuck out my foot and he was flying through the air...right into my box. I sealed the inner box, released the water, and sealed the outer box before he could come out.

"What's stopping him from coming through the ice, swimming through the water, and out through the second layer?" Gavin asked as he watched Pike beat on the side of the walls.

"He can't be half and half. He has to be all intangible or not at all." I told him. "I noticed he had to wait until he was completely out of the wall before he could punch you."

"Does your school drop people in vats of toxic waste? Because I want superpowers." He said with a silly grin.

"Oh, yeah, all the time." I said sarcastically, already heading up the stairs. Down a few flights, I could hear Will and Ethan running. They had already taken care of Michaels. Layla and Magenta ran up behind me and Gavin, toward the ninth floor. Will and Ethan caught up with us by the time we were on the ninth floor landing. The four ran in, leaving Gavin and I out in the stairway. Before we were even up the next flight, a little purple guinea pig came flying out of the door. Guinea pigs don't fly. Which is why it then crashed into the concrete wall. I turned and ran back down. Before I could reach her, she was picked up by - get this- a gust of wind and slammed into the ceiling. She started morphing back. Which meant she was really, seriously hurt.

"Magenta, Magenta? Can you talk?" I asked, using my powers to check that her heart was beating-it was-and that she was breathing-ditto. She was, however, unresponsive. "Magenta, come on. Wake up."

She moaned and cracked open her eyes. "Elle? What-"

"You just got hammered against a nice soft piece of concrete. Can you sit up?" Magenta struggled slightly and fell limp again. "No. Okay. Gavin?"

"Yeah?" He asked from right behind me, making me jump.

"Stay with her." I ordered, rising.

"What!?" Gavin exclaimed, jumping in front of me as I moved toward the stairs. "Elle, you can't go up there alone."

"Watch me." I said, attempting to run up the stairs. His hand shot out and grabbed me, spinning me to face him. "Please, Gavin, let me go."

"No. I can't let you do it." He said, his eyes portraying an emotion that he wouldn't express with words because he just couldn't. He was scared. He was scared for me.

"Gavin. You're my best friend and I love you, but you have to let me go." I told him, giving him a hard hug and then jerking away before he could stop me.

I felt really bad.

But Warren was up there and with Gavin down there with Magenta, I knew he would be safe.

At least from Baron Battle.

Because one good thing about leaving a person to guard someone who couldn't move-the person guarding them couldn't move either.

I could feel the heat as I pushed open the door to floor ten. It was designed differently. When you entered, there was nothing but a long, narrow hallway that ended with the door to the other stairwell. a few doors were scattered on either side of the hallway. Those rooms must have belonged to the big guys in charge.

Not wanting to bother with busting open _all _of the doors, I used my power and found Warren and his dad in the last room.

And then busted open_ that_ door.

The back of Barron Battle's head was the first thing I saw.

"I'm impressed Miss Brookes, you got here in twenty-three minutes. I was betting on twenty-four." He said, not turning around. I froze for a moment. All I could do was look at the scene in front of me. Warren was on the far side of the room, sagging heavily on the steel restraints on the wall. He lifted his head painfully when he heard his father say my name. His father was standing about ten feet from the door, fifteen feet from Warren. He was wearing a grungy brown sports coat and ash covered gray pants. His hair was long, like Warren's, only curly and it hung in oily clumps.

He reminded me of the guys Bruce chased around at night. You know...the psychos.

"Now that you have arrived, I believe we can start the party." He whipped around to look at me. "Do come in."

There was a maniacal smile on his thin lips and a malicious glint in his dark eyes. I stepped inside the doorway, but not any further.

"Come now. Don't be a wall flower. Come inside." He gestured behind him, beckoning me in. "Ah, I know...music. A party needs music. Something with a lot of BOOM."

"If you're talking about what's on the sixth floor, forget it." I smirked. He did not seemed at all surprised...which really pissed me off.

"Oh, I know you are a smart girl, Ellie." The way he was leering at me made my skin crawl. Then he began stalking forward, slightly to my right. I was being herded and there was nothing I could do about it. If I walked out, Warren would be in a worse situation. If I stayed, I was in the worse situation with him. Which was slightly better than option one.

And where was Bruce? And Clark? And Diana? Were they taking the bus?

"See," He began in his gravely, slurred speech. "I never expected them to stop you. I never expected their little_ plan_ to work."

He paused to look at me, as if assessing how I was taking all of this in...or maybe for dramatic effect.

"See, that's the problem with plans. They get all _mixed up_," He waved his hands in the air furiously, like he was scrambling it. "You never know what's going to happen. Well, _they_ don't. _I_ just don't care."

"That's obvious." I said, glancing at Warren, who had his gaze locked on me.

"Oh, don't go all antipathic. It's very unbecoming of a pretty girl like you." He waggled a grime covered finger at me and stepped behind me, cutting off my exit and making me turn away from Warren to face him. "And you are a pretty one."

"Glad I can't return the compliment." I spat, angered as he backed me into the room, kicking the door shut with his foot as he did so. It just bounced back open, because I had broken the lock when I kicked it in, but was it still closed enough that I couldn't run out freely.

"_And _she talks back!" He grinned, his eyes lighting up with fire. "I_ like_ it. Yes, yes, I knew I was going to like you. Is that why you like her, boy?"

Warren glared at his father but said nothing.

"What was all of this about?" I asked, wanting some answers, and since I was stuck here...

"About?" He asked, as if hearing there was something going on for the first time. "About? I already told you. I have no plan. There is nothing for something to be about." Then, he made a gesture, as if turning on the light bulb over his head and pointed to the floor. "Oh, you mean_ them_."

I nodded shortly, giving him an annoyed look.

"They thought this was an operation." He told me seriously, that maniacal glint still in his eyes when he leaned in close to me and continued in a dramatic whisper. "They were wrong."

I didn't move, waiting for him to continue.

"This...this was a_ game_." His tone was delighted. "Congratulations. I win!"

"Not yet." I growled, turning as he circled me. "I'm still standing."

"As are your friends." Then he smiled down at the floor and laughed. "Most of them. No, see, you can never ever win. I am the only one who knows the rules."

"Rules imply a plan." I smirked. His eyes flashed at that.

"No, they don't." He barked. "I make the rules as I go along. No plan."

"Then how do you know you win?"

"Rule one: I win." He stated seriously.

"Rule two: You lose." I smirked. "I can do it, too."

"Rule three: You don't walk out of here." He said gravely.

"Rule four: Neither do you." I returned matter-of-factly. "I can do this all day."

"You're an_noying_ me!" He yelled, stomping his foot.

"I'm good at that. Ask him." I gestured to Warren, who was barely able to keep his head up. Well, he acted like he couldn't. His eyes told me a different story when they met mine. He was down, not defeated.

"No, I like talking to you much better."

"Then tell me what their idiotic plan was." I asked, daring him not to answer.

"Oh, it was a good one." He said mockingly. "They completely under-estimated _everything_! I loved it."

"So, did I."

"Yes, well, they never suspected you were the new ringleader." I was? Since when had I been directing this circus? "They thought it was still that imbecile Stronghold's son."

"And."

"Stop interrupting! You're ruining the story." He chided, before continueing."They didn't _know_ anything. I don't know how they got to be master criminals without knowing?"

He looked to me as if expecting me to answer. I raised an eyebrow before responding, "They have superpowers."

"And they thought that made you even. HA! You were raised by the Justice League! You are miles ahead of anyone at that school." My expression must have betrayed how shocked I was that he knew that information. "Don't worry, I didn't tell them."

"Why not?"

"It would mean that I was involved in the plan." He told me. "Now, please shut up. I made a point of knowing about all of you. Not to form a plan. Just to know my opponent. William Stronghold: son of Commander and Jetsteam. I didn't have to search long to figure all that out. Layla Williams: Mother hero, father civilian. Little boy that melts: Mother and Father sidekicks. That one that glows...Zach!: Father hero, mother civilian. The little rat girl: first generation. Warren Peace: My son, Mother...a very lucky woman. And one Miss Elle Brookes: raised by the Justice League." he paused there, eyeing me. Then he came close and whispered, "Want to know what else I found?"

"Not really." I told him in a bored tone. He circled me, placing a hand on my left shoulder so that I could not turn. His grip was so hard that I could not jerk away either. His disgusting breath swept across my neck as he leaned in close to my neck. Warren began pulling against his restraints, trying to break free.

"I have found," He paused to release an evil chuckle, "That you have a very healthy fear of_ knives_."

I froze.

Something slender, hot, and metal was at my throat.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" He asked giddily. I didn't move or say anything. "Yes. Yes, I did."

It was gone then, and I was being hurled toward the wall, which I hit and collapsed against.

"But it's not the knife that bothers you the most." He was standing in the center of the room, I was against the wall, midway between him and Warren. "It's when fathers and children get thrown in the mix."

He was turning.

I was on my feet.

He reared back.

My power lashed out against him on its own accord.

Too late.

Knife was in the air.

A pained cry.

Ice not affecting the knife as I ran.

Warren's face.

He was almost free.

A dull thump.

Fire. Pain.

Crashing into a something soft and warm.

Arms wrapping around me.

His pained expression as he lowered me to the ground.

"You are so stupid." He whisper to me, tears already streaming out of his eye, down his sooty cheeks, and landing on my own.

I couldn't talk. My lungs were on fire, too.

"Why?" He whispered, pulling me into his chest, which heaved from his sobs.

Suddenly, a revelation hit me. I knew why I did it. And I could not even tell him.

I was growing weaker, I could my energy draining quickly. With the strength I had, I pulled away and pressed my hand to his wet cheek.

His dark, watery eyes stared down at me. I tried to smile through my pain. That's when I felt the cold starting to envelope my body, binding me.

I heard Gavin, Will, and Layla come into the room, but Warren's gaze didn't leave mine.

Gavin was kneeling next to me now, staring at me in horror.

"Elle. Hold on." He urged. I barely heard him.

Warren's eyes had dried somewhat, but silent tears still swelled out of the corner's of his eyes to drop down onto my hand.

I couldn't hold my head up anymore. And the cold was so inviting. A release from the fire.

Then the lights dimmed, Gavin's face was swallowed by the darkness. Only Warren was left. Holding me to him. My head was swimming. I couldn't inhale. My hand, my anchor, fell away from his cheek, leaving me to fall into the darkness, alone in the cold.

**

* * *

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**A/N: There is still another chapter. So, don't kill me yet. Please? Review, please. I really want to know what you think about this chap.**

**StarArrow**


	23. Well, no Living, yes

_**A/N: This chapter may be a little rough, but I hope you like it. I plan to read through it again and fix it later. And I am glad most of you didn't totally tear me down for that cliffie :) And THANK YOU to everyone who review! I love you guys! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Third time's the charm.

That line was running through my head over, and over, and over. My dying mantra.

The fire in my back had vanished only to be replaced by a paralyzing chill. I could feel my heart beating slower and slower until it was hardly pumping at all. That tell-tale rush of sound in my ears was there; I knew it was bad.

Strange things were running through my head, but they were not memories. My life didn't flash before my eyes. No, what I saw was something that I could only figure to be the future.

Warren was in a suit holding a white rose. Gavin was beside him. Both were crying openly, something very out of character for both of them. They were looking down at me where I lay, surrounded by white silk.

Bruce was sitting in front of his fire place, a glass of bourbon in hand, staring unseeing into the blaze. His eyes were so dull.

Layla was folding my clothes, packing them away, and sealing the boxes. Neal was whining and pawing at the empty bed.

Dick sat on my bed in Bruce's house flipping through a book. I realized it was a book of photographs I had put together over the years.

Flash leaned against the door to my room in the Watchtower, gazing at a picture of me on the wall. He was crying, too.

A plaque with my face on it joined the procession of fallen superheroes that lined the walls of Principal Powers office.

A sick realization came over me. I was gone. I was not there anymore. I was...

Fire ripped through me, pulling me out of the bizarre visions.

I wanted to scream, but found that I did not have the breath.

My heart was going a mile a minute now.

Pain.

The icy chill was coming back.

Then, the fire once again rushed in.

More pain.

Ice began to fill my veins.

The pattern continued twice more.

After that stopped, I was consumed by blackness.

The darkness itself kept me sane.

No bright light ever appeared.

Which meant that either I wasn't dead or that it was a really big fib that everyone accepts as true.

I was hoping it was the former.

There were times when things weren't black and the rushing surged of noise was not filling my ears.

That's when I realized I really wasn't dead. I was in the hospital. Possibly in a coma. Possibly.

The things I heard were never intelligiable. They were always just a jumble of sounds.

Warren and Gavin were bellowing at the top of their lungs on either side of me.

Bruce growling when someone asked him a question.

Many times I heard sobbing.

Sometimes, I could feel someone pulling gently at my hair, crooning in a low voice.

Most of the time I was just floating, drifting aimlessly around in the blackness.

* * *

Something had changed. I could feel it. Like a TV had being turned on, but there was no picture or sound. Just that machanical buzz that told you it was on.

Then, like someone had hooked up a set of speakers to my head, noise filled the room.

Breathing. Beeping. Talking. Distant Footsteps.

Suddenly, for the first time since the searing pain had gone away, I could feel.

A soft pillow was under my head. A warm blanket. Something hot on my stomach. A strange feeling in my forearm. Something touching my fingers.

Gaw, that was annoying. Something was poking my fingertips, tenting my fingers, then pushing my knuckles down one by one.

I tried, but couldn't move the arm to move my hand away.

Slowly, I cracked my eyes open, determined to find out what was assaulting my fingers. Everything was fuzzy. The only thing I could see was a green and tan blob infront of me. Blinking, I cleared my vision and saw Gavin.

He looked horrible. There was dark bags under his emerald green eyes, which were red-rimmed. He was laying with his head cradled in his arm on my bed. There were scabs along the back of his knuckles. From the fighting, I guessed.

"That...is really annoying." I rasped, my voice weak and hoarse. Gavin jumped, looking up at me with surprise and relief in his wide eyes. I smiled at his expression. "Hi."

"Hey," He practically yelled. When he raised his head up, I could see the large, fading bruise that Alex Pike had left. I could see thoughts rushing through his head. "I got to tell the nurse!"

"I think I'm going to be awake awhile." I told him, testing my toes. Yep, still had 'em. I was actually testing them to make sure that I was fully functional. I was.

"How do you know?" He asked, shooting back the metal chair he was in and standing.

"I wasn't this aware of things the other times." I informed him, looking up at him, then pointedly at his empty chair. "Sit."

He did.

"You were awake before?" He asked curiously.

"Sort of. I wouldn't call what I was 'awake'." I said, trying to move my arm to push myself up. It wouldn't move. Looking down, I saw a very binding white bandage. Of course. That was the shoulder the knife hit. "Wait. I'm suppose to be dead."

"You would think that." Gavin chuckled, pulling his seat closer again.

"I'm guessing someone got around to saving me then?" I asked, craning my head to see the bandage better.

"Yep. Did a pretty good job of it, too." He smirked, and thumped my leg through the blanket. "Your still kicking. Beside, you had to live. You still have to be my Best Woman."

"Yeah...in all five of your weddings." I joked. I tried to shift my weight and groaned. "Damn, this hurts."

"Do you want me to get the nurse? She can give you more meds." He asked, already rising.

"No. The last thing I want them to do is to make me loopy. I'll just grin and bear it." I waved my arm at the elbow for him to sit again. "Where's Warren?"

I was slightly surprised he had not burst in here already.

"Right beside you." He pointed to my right, a direction I hadn't looked yet. I felt foolish when I became aware of the heavy warm thing resting against my stomach. Warren had fallen asleep slumped out of his chair, his face toward me, hand laying close to mine.

Warren looked worse than Gavin. There was a bandage around his bicep and his black t-shirt looked like it had been with him a couple of days. His hair was pulled back and his face looked drawn and worn, sporting a few fading bruises. The way he was laying across the bed looked so uncomfortable. He had definately had better days.

"I'm surprised he didn't wake up." I muttered, placing my hand on his stubbled cheek and stroking it with my thumb. His warmth felt so good.

"Oh, Bruce took care of that." Gavin said knowingly, chuckling.

"What does that mean?" I asked, looking down worriedly at my boyfriend. What had Bruce done?

"He drugged him." I raised my eyebrows and gave Gavin a shocked look. "Slipped a sleeping pill into a drink or sandwich."

"Why?"

"Because he was going to be in the next room over if he kept going like he was." Gavin told me. "He hasn't left the hospital yet. Don't think he has sleep more than a few hours a day. Nurses said he hasn't hardly left your side except to grap something from the vending machine or go to the bathroom. It's hurt him most, I think."

"And you were not upset...just a little." I jokingly asked, holding my fingertips just a centimeter apart to emphasize my words.

"Well, maybe a little." He grinned, but the smile fell away he looked sadly at Warren. "He saw more than any of us, Elle. Layla and his mom could barely keep him under control after you both got out of the O.R."

"Both?" I took the knife. Warren should have been fine.

Gavin gave me a long look then shrugged, "I don't know what happened in the operating room, but when they got you out of that building you were just a big block of ice."

That must have been the cold I could feel.

"They were having trouble figuring out how they would get the knife out and everything once you were on the table. Then Warren stepped up." Gavin looked across my stomach at him. "Damn. I don't even want to know. Hasn't said a word about what happened in there. Came out looking like a zombie and Layla and Mrs. Peace took him off somewhere because he started flipping out."

"I know I felt at least four heat surges before I went completly out of it." I told him quietly before looking back down at Warren. Gavin didn't need to hear that I thought it might have been them starting my heart again as well. "That must of been him melting the ice."

Silence settled as Gavin picked at the sheets and I ran my fingers over Warren's face, drinking in his features.

"You scared me." I turned back to him. Gavin never admitted when he was scared. He wouldn't look at me.

"I scared me." I admitted, grinning. His eyes snapped to mine and I saw the troubled expression there.

"I'm being serious. I-I don't-" To my utter surprise, tears started welling up in his eyes and he choked on his words. Gavin didn't cry. And I didn't want him to. If his resolve broke...mine might too.

"Shh..." I breathed, putting my hand on his. "I'm fine now."

"Yeah, _now_." He expressed surily, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye to block the tears. "I wasn't to sure about that when I saw your blood everywhere and that damn knife sticking out of your back!"

"You should have known I would be to stubborn to die." I told him, earning a glare. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I'll buy you a big chocolate cupcake and dance with you until the whole club is jealous and all the girls flock to you."

"Stop it." He growled. "Stop acting like it is nothing."

I flinched at his words. "I don't want to." I whispered.

Something was bothering him. I was the one who did the ordering around in this friendship."You are going to be doing this your whole life."

I nodded, keeping quiet so that he could talk.

"How many times are me and him going to end up like this?" He gestured to Warren and the room.

"Hopefully not many." Was all I could say. "You've known since you found out that I had powers that stuff like this was going to happen."

"But it was never real before." He remarked quietly. "I never had to face it. I never had to watch the life drain out of you. Or sit with your friends and family as we waited to know if you were alive or not. Or be at the hospital every single day for two weeks because I was afraid if I left for too long you-you wouldn't be here when came back. I didn't have to _think _of what I would do without my best friend."

His voice had rose as he spoke, ending at a near yell that brought the nurses running.

"Mr. Tyler, get out of this room." A large nurse with a no-nosenes look ordered, holding open the door.

Gavin glared at her, stood abrupted, making to chair fall and fly across the floor.

"No." I spoke, making him halt as he stomped toward the door. "He can stay."

"Your awake!" The nurse gasped. I guess she hadn't noticed before. She called for someone down the hall and a man in a doctors coat appeared in the door a few seconds later, chart in hand.

"Miss Brookes." He greeted, coming to stand beside Warren's sleeping form.

"Doctor..." I couldn't read his name tag because he was holding the chart in front of it.

"Garret." He supplied with a warm smile. He reminded me of Gavin's grandfather. The one that climbs mountains and stuff still. Not the one that sits on the front porch telling old stories.

"So, what's the prognosis, doc?" I asked in mock-seriousness.

Doctor Garret grinned, "I assume you are feeling well then?"

Oh, yeah, this pain stuff was a blast. "Well? Um...no. Living. That's a better word."

"A fine word." He agreed, looking at some of the monitors. "How long have you been awake?"

"I don't know." I looked down at Gavin, who was standing at the foot of the bed. "Twenty minutes or so?"

"Yeah, something like that." Gavin agreed shortly. He was mad. I was definately going to have to have a long talk with him later.

"And I just now got informed?" The doctor asked angrily. "Wha-"

"It was my fault, doctor." I intergected. "I wanted to figure out what was going on before I got put on any meds."

The doctor looked at me disapprovingly and went back to read the monitors.

"So, what happened?" I asked, seriously this time. I wanted to know.

"You don't remember?" The doctor asked, worry in his eyes.

"Oh, no, I remember the knife and stuff." I admended, realizing that I should have made it clearer. "I just don't know what happened after that."

"The knife went through the back of your left shoulder, puncturing you lung and grazing the bag around you heart. You were also frozen over. Your superpowers. Amazing things. Your body was trying to put itself into a hypothermic trance of sorts until you would heal." He told me, looking up from his chart at me. "But, it didn't help us much. This young man would melt the ice as it came over and we were able to get you patched up rightly enough."

"What do you mean by rightly 'enough'?" I asked. That did not sound normal.

"Your powers affected your healing. When we take the bandages off, I will explain more." He told me, avoiding a direct answer.

"Paging Doctor Garret. Doctor Garret. You are needed in SecRoom 245. Doctor Garret, you are needed in SecRoom 245." The doctor looked disgusted and glared at the intercom.

"I would like to give that a man a piece of my mind." He growled under his breath as he scribbled on my chart. "Serves him right to lose the arm."

"Huh?" I had never heard a doctor talk like that.

"Patient matters." He said for explaination. "And you didn't hear a word I just said."

"What words? I didn't hear any."

"Thank you. Simone, could you do the tests?" He asked, relaying the chart to her as he walked out of the room. "Miss Brookes, this is Nurse Simone Bruins."

"Hi." I greeted.

"Hi, honey. Now, you look so much better." She said, a smile breaking out on her face. She had a strange, oddly musical accent. What she actually sounded like was _'Hi, huney. Nah, yuh look so muhch bettah.'_

"Thanks." I said, before my curiousity got the better of me. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Bayou, honey. Louisana." She said proudly. "Now, do you know what day it is?"

"I've been in here two weeks?" I asked, recalling what Gavin had told me.

"That's right." She confirmed in her Cajan drawl.

"So, it's January sixth." She nodded and wrote down the information.

"Your name?"

"Elle Brookes."

It went on with her asking questions and me answering them. Congrats to me! I was completely amnesia free!

"It's 'bout time for me to change those dressin's anyway, might as well get it done while I am alread in the room." She said, putting the chart down. "Mr. Tyler, you're going to need to leave."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, nodding curtly to me, and walking to the door.

"Can you close the curtain, please?" She asked when he neared the door. He reached out and twirled the stick that flipped the hanging blinds shut before walking out and closing the door.

She frown down at Warren, as if trying to figure out what to do.

"I don't think he's going to wake up." I told her. "My gaurdian slipped him some sleeping pills. Besides, if he was in the operating room with me, I think he's seen more than what he will now."

"I suppose." She shrugged, gathering the bandages from a cabinet and setting them on the table to the left of my bed. "I'm going to have to help you sit up. You don't need to be putting no pressure on that arm, now, you hear?"

"No pressure. Got it." I groaned as she pushed me into a sitting position. I carefully lifted Warren's head off of my stomach and onto my lap.

"Them two boys sure do love you." She told me, unlacing the back of my hospital gown.

Love. Associated with Warren. I remembered what I had been thinking when he called me stupid for jumping in front of him. I gulped.

"Yeah." I whispered, stroking Warren's hair back with my good hand. I wanted him to open his eyes so that I could see him smile.

"They did know about each other right?" She joked.

I laughed, causing a twitch of pain in my shoulder, but ignored it, "Gavin's my best friend. Warren's my boyfriend."

"You had them scared out of their minds." She informed me as she unwrapped the bandage. "I would come in here and they'd just be staring at you. Waiting. Why, if Mayor Tyler hadn't come up here himself, I don't think Gavin would have left. And that one's mother...well, she just didn't have the heart to drag him away."

Simone shook her head sadly.

"He was in the O.R. with me." I stated, hoping she would enlighten me on the subject.

"Yes. Horrible." She said, dropping the used bandage into a bin. It was bloodless, I noticed. "I wasn't sure that the Doc and that alien of yours were going to get you to pull through." She stood beside me, gripping a roll of bandages in front of her. "You are one lucky child."

"I know." I whispered solomnly. "What actually happened in there? There's something no one is telling me."

The nurse shook her head. "Not me, honey. You'll have to get it out of him."

She nodded toward Warren as she re-bandaged my shoulder. I stayed still and quiet until she was finished and watched as she put the bandages back on the cabinet on my right.

"Was it bad for him?" I asked softly, looking down at Warren. He was still sleeping soundly, a slight frown on his face.

"Terrible." She told me, "Poor baby cried his eyes out right here on the bed for two days. Broke my heart. He loves you so much, honey. Both of them do."

There was that word again.

"Neither would leave your side unless the other was waiting in here." She told me, checking various things that I was hooked up to.

"There was another girl brought in with me. And others. Do you know if they are okay?" I asked, remembering I had left Gavin with Magenta, and he had ended up by my side once I was hit.

"There was a short dark-headed girl with multiple breaks and some internal bleeding, but she will pull through. Two of the boys had broken hands. The red-head broke her wrist." She told me, then gave me a serious look. "Now, don't you be telling I told you, you hear?"

"It's alright. For all they know, Gavin told me." She smiled and faced me again, hands on her hips.

"We need to get you back down." She told me.

"Can I just sit up for awhile? I've been laying down for a long time." I pleaded. She seemed to consider it, then nodded.

"Let's get you comfortable then." She said, grabbing the romote to the bed and pushed the button up until the mattress met my back. "Need a pillow?"

"No, ma'am, I'm good." I said, adjusting Warren's position in my lap so that his neck wasn't craned backward. "Thank you."

"No problem, honey." She smiled warmly. "I'll come check on you later."

"Do you know if Bruce Wayne is here?" I asked, wondering where he was at the moment.

"He had some business to take care of, can't imagine what at this hour, but he will probably be back before long. He doesn't leave much either." She told me.

"Has he been told that I woke up?" My evil little brain was ticking.

"No. I don't imagine he has. We weren't really told you woke up." She gave me a 'better-not-happen-again' look. Oh, yeah, you know she had kids. That look could only have come from an experienced mother.

I knew my cell phone was still in the car where I had left it once Battle hung up. "Can you not tell him?"

"Whatever you say, honey." She shrugged and opened the door. Gavin came tumbling in. "Looks like somebody was eaves dropping." She smirked and looked over her shoulder at me. "You sure got your hands full."

"You wouldn't believe the trouble they get into all by themselves. This one usually doesn't even need me to help." I joked, indicating Gavin, who was picking himself up off the floor. The nurse shook her head and closed the door behind her. "Phone, please."

Gavin fished it out of his pocket and deposited it in my outheld hand. "You're really one to talk. Look what happened when you got in trouble."

"I had help." I smiled at the glare he gave me. Ignoring him, I dialed with my good hand and brought the phone to my ear.

It rang twice then, "What is it Gavin? I am in the middle of something."

"Bad news, Bruce." I said, already grinning like an idiot. He didn't say anything. "I woke up."

"Elle!" He exclaimed. "When? That's gr-Young lady, you are in so much trouble."

"Love you too, Bruce." I told him cheerily, ignoring his angry tone.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked as something made a loud thud in the background.

"About thirty-something minutes." I answered, yawning loudly. My body felt exhausted.

"You're still tired? Elle, you've been asleep for fourteen days." I could hear a smirk in his voice. "I have to go, I'm...busy."

"Okay, see you Brucey. And I know that you drugged Warren, by the way, and I can say that I am a little bit annoyed." I heard him chuckle before hanging up. Tossing it back to Gavin, who was standing at the bed, I could tell he wanted to say something. He always gets this look when he wants to tell me something, but doesn't know how I will take it. "What Gavin?"

"It's two in the morning and I haven't ate since lunch yesterday." He said, his stomach growling right on cue.

I laughed. He was afraid I would be mad if he left me alone.

"Sit down first." I said, patting a slightly open space on the bed seside me.

"I didn't mean to blow up earlier." He said, looking like a puppy with his tail between his legs as he walked toward me, perching cautiously on the bed.

"I'm sorry." I said sencerily.

"You just scared me." He tried to explain. "I wasn't sure what would happen and I didn't like it and I just took it out on you. I'm sorry."

I smiled warmly and when he grinned back, his stomach growled. "Go get something to eat before we both end up apoligizing until our teeth fall out."

"That's a picture." Gavin raised his eyebrows at my choice of words.

"I felt like being creative." I grinned, giving him a shove. "Go eat!"

He laughed heartedly and hopped off the bed.

"Wait! Get me a candy bar!" I yelled after him.

"I think Nurse O'hara out here would cut me a new one." He joked loudly from over his shoulder.

"Scarlett O'hara was from Georgia, Gavin!" I responded, laughing. "Pick up a book sometime!"

"Georgia. Louisiana. They're in the South." He yelled back, already retreating.

"Voice, Mr. Tyler." I sniggered as I heard the repremand from the Cajun nurse.

Warren moved in my lap, reaching up to scratch his cheek where my hand was. When it came down on my skin instead of his, he stopped. Then, slowly, he felt my hand. Realizing that it was not his face, he snapped his eyes open and he sat up aburptly.

"Am I dreaming?" His dark eyes bore into mine and I leaned forward, our breathes intermingling.

"Yes." I responded seriously.

"Then I don't want to wake up." His hand was on my cheeks, pulling me closer, connecting my lips with his. It wasn't a deep kiss, just a graze really. He pressed his forehead into my and closed his eyes and swallowed. "I'm not really dreaming, am I?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Good." He opened his eyes again and bringing his other hand to cup my face. There were bags under his eyes, his face was thinner, and he looked like he was about to fall out dead any second. Except his eyes. No, his eyes looked more alive than I had ever seen.

"You look horrible." I said, shaking my head in his hands.

"You look beautiful." He whispered, as if afraid a normal tone would break me.

"Then I suggest you go get you eyes checked." I could only imagine how bad I looked. If their bruises where anything to go by, my face was probably still black and blue.

"No, my eyes are fine." He told me. "Are you?"

"Still got all my appendages." I joked, holding out my good arm and wiggling my legs. He did not smile. I needed to see him smile and let me know that he was alright. Of course, he was worried more about me than him at the moment.

He blinked and pulled away, resting his elbows on the bed and putting his head in his hands. "You shouldn't have done it."

"To late for that, Hotshot." I grimaced when he flinched away from my words.

"I didn't ask you to." He growled in to his hands, muffling the sound.

"And you'll never have to." I responded adamently.

"You could have gotten killed." Really? I hadn't known that.

"Warren, look at the way I drive. I am practically begging for it everytime I get behind the wheel." I told him, trying to play it down.

"Driving like a maniac and jumping in front of knives is a big difference." There was something in his voice. Was he crying?

"I put myself in dangerous positions all the time." I pointed out. "Point in case: I nearly got sliced in Downtown and oh-that's a bad example."

"Yeah, I had to come save you then." He grumbled.

"Okay, so we are even." I said, throwing up my good arm in frustration.

"I didn't get hurt. Hell, I wasn't even in danger then." He growled. Why did he always revert to growling?

"I jumped out of a six story window to get the stuff to diffuse a bomb." I told him, then mentally slapped myself. Why had I told him that?

"Were you ever in danger though? No. You would, and obvious did, save yourself." He argued back, still not looking at me.

"Well, sometimes it's not just me that needs saving!" I growled through gritted teeth. "Do you think I could live with myself knowing that I did _nothing_ to save you? Staying safe and watching it all happen was not and will never be an option for me!"

He looked up at me with shocked eyes. "You just don't understand."

"What? What don't I understand, Warren?" I practically yelled. Did he think I was stupid? "Is it because a_ girl_ saved you? Think that because I am a girl I should be the one being protected. I am not made of glass."

"I know you are not!" He roared, jumping up.

"Then why are you so mad?" I saved his life. Worried the hell out of him yes, but I saved him none the less.

"Because I-I...I." He because choking on the words, just as Gavin had done, only he could not stop his tears as Gavin had. His knees gave out and he sank to the floor, his musclar arms cradling his head on the bed. I stroked his hair silently, waiting for him to stop. He lifted his head up, tears still steaming down his face. "You don't understand at all."

"Then explain." I said softly, thinking he sounded somewhat like a five year old. "Tell me."

"I had to watch you die. Again and again and _again_! Everytime they pulled you back, you just fell back under. You flat lined four times!" He was yelling again in a rough voice, through the tears. "And all I could do was sit back and _watch_. They made me stay back there because you would ice over after a couple of minutes. And I couldn't do anything!"

"Will you pull yourself out of the pity pool?" I asked. Yeah, that was a bit rude, but he was beating himself up over nothing. I had a feeling some of the flipping out was a result of no sleep and stress. "You didn't do anything wrong. You melting the ice saved me."

He nodded and pushed himself off of the bed, pulled the chair back up, and downed the glass of water he had sitting on the table. Sitting back down, he laid his head back down on my lap as it had been earlier. I ran my fingers through his hair and it seemed to relax him.

Funny. I was the one in the hospital and he was the one falling apart.

Of course, I had done this before. After having to majority of your family in the infirmary for on ailment or another, you get used to the stress.

"You did perfect, Hotshot." I soothed, wipping away the tears that still drizzled down his cheek.

"You weren't even there." He said, his voice muffled.

"Well, technically, I was." I reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." He mumbled, worming an arm under by lower back and wrapping the other about my waist. "But not awake. Doesn't count."

"I was aware well enough." I told him, watching him sigh as he settled down drossily in my lap. The water! Crap. Bruce, I'm going to kill you, I thought.

"Really?" He asked quietly, closing his eyes.

"Yes, really." I told him. "They could only restart my heart once you melted the ice. Thank you."

"Don't-don't thank me." He yawned, snuggling closer to me. Yeah, Bruce was so dead. I had been out of it for_ two weeks_ and the minute I wake up he decides to drug my boyfriend. I was going to kill him. Simple as that. Dead. That's what he was.

"Go to sleep, Hotshot." I told him, laughing as he sighed and promptly did just that.

* * *

"You're dead."

"So are you."

"Well, I was doing what I had to."

"So, was I. I figured you would at least want him in the room if you woke up."

"You didn't think I was going to did you?"

Bruce rolled his eyes and smiled as be bent down and kissed my forehead, "Never doubted you would for a second."

"Sure." I said, eyeing him suspiciously. He sat heavily in the chair that Gavin had left empty when his father pulled him out by the ear earlier. Gavin had failed to show up for his classes for the past two weeks and his Headmaster had made a little phone call to Gavin's daddy and well, he was not happy. Mr. Tyler was glad that I was awake however, and his office later sent me balloons and candy.

"You are grounded...again." I rolled my eyes. I had a feeling I wouldn't see that car ever again. He continued on,

"Surprise. Surprise." I grumbled sarcastically. Bruce gave me a stern look. "Okay, I guess I was a little out of line hanging-up on you mid-video call."

"A little." He agreed in that infuriating voice that made you start to feel like you were ten inches tall.

"And I probably should have waited for back-up." I continued surmised, knowing that was what he wanted to hear.

"You should have." He once again agreed. Grr...why does he do that? It's an adult psych thing I guess.

"And you are just going to keep agreeing with me to try and make me feel guilty." I told him moodily.

"Yes, I am." He smirked.

"You're mean." I accused, sending him a fake glare.

"I know." He agreed...AGAIN! He shed is suit jacket and continued talking. "We had a little trouble after we got all of you out of there. As soon as Magenta is given the clear by J'onn, we are moving all of you to the Watchtower."

Confusion swam around in my brain. Why would we need to get off the planet? Was there something that happened after that Gavin didn't tell me about? Suddenly, it dawned on me.

"Again, Bruce? You have to be kidding me?" I asked, annoyed. How could he let it happen not once, but_ twice_.

"Maybe you should have knocked frozen all of them and not just three." He retorted defensively.

"I thought I wasn't even supposed to be in there?" I asked indignantly.

"But you were." He responded. I glared at him.

"I can't believe you let them get away." I growled. How? How do you manage to...grrr.

"We were focused on saving you." He replied testily, "And doing clean-up on everyone else."

"Everyone else? I thought it was just Magenta and me stuck in here." I asked, confused.

"But not the only ones injured." He looked away. He was hiding something. I could just tell. "All but one of the villians we found when we got there were fine."

"One? Who?" I couldn't think for the life of me who it might be.

"Barron Battle." My jaw dropped when Bruce told me. That scumbag was perfectly fine the last time I saw him.

Saw him.

But I had heard him as well, I realized.

That harsh scream after my power lashed out.

"Bruce," I said weakly, "I think I am going to be sick."

He nimbly hopped off the bed and shoved a pink bowl under my face. I sat there, swallowing and trying to force down the disgusting bile that was welling up my throat. Finally, when I thought it was safe, I nodded to Bruce and he pulled the empty pan away.

"Tell me he's not dead." Please, please, tell me he's not a pile of dust, I prayed.

"You completely disentigrated his right arm." He told me.

A sick relief washed over me.

* * *

**_A/N: Well? What did you think? Review and tell me!_**


	24. When the blind don't need to see

**A/N: As always, this one took longer than I thought. I actually wrote three different verisons and this was the one I thought fit the best. Enjoy**

* * *

You would think that once one of my worst fears were confirmed - that I had indeed used my dicentigration powers on a human - there wouldn't really be anything else anyone could tell me that would make my day worse.

And thinking that was like saying _"At least it's not raining"_ when you are broken down in the middle of nowhere. Because then all Hell breaks lose and it starts raining cats and dogs.

Not five minutes after Bruce told me what I did, the doctor came back holding charts and papers.

"Good morning." He said grimly. That tone was never good.

"Morning." I responded. "What is it?"

"What is what?" He asked innocently. Why did they always try that? Feigned innocence does not work.

"There is something wrong and I have a sneaking feeling it has something to do with my arm only being patched up 'rightly enough'. So, what is it?" I would have loved to have said more, but that would probably only make him mad. Mad doctors tend to do mean things. Like take your tempeture rectally. Not cool. And yes, I was making a House reference.

"Good news or bad news?" He asked me. And why did they always ask that question?

"Just hit me with a double shot, doc. I think I can take it." I said, a little mockingly.

He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "You have a scar running down the length of your shoulder blade. It is laced with ice crystals because when we took the knife out, you kept freezing over. We did not get to operate on your heart and the bag around it has a hole in it. All I can assume is that it is scarred as well. Which means that the scar is attaching your heart to your muscles and that puts you at a great risk for tearing the tissue. The same is the case for the hole in your lung. We had to make sure you would wake up before we did anything. Now, we are going to run tests and get scans to see how to fix it."

I could feel the blood drain out of my face. Swallowing, I looked over at Bruce. "You hear any good news in there?"

"I think it was the 'run tests' and 'fix it' part." He said, putting on a brave face.

"Right. Well, thank you, Doc. That just brought a big ole fat ray of sunshine on my nice, dreary, little day." I drawled sarcastically, beaming up at him.

"That is a tad bit harsh, Miss Brookes." He told me, controlling his emotions with a practiced ease.

"So is telling me that one wrong move or to deep of a breath and I am dead." I growled at the doctor. Maybe I was over-reacting.

"Well, it's the truth." He shrugged. True, it was. At least he wasn't one of those beat-around-the-bush doctors. They annoy me.

"Alright. So, how is this going work? What kind of scans?" I didn't like it, but I wanted to know what was going to be done to me.

"We are looking at a piece of the tissue now. Quite amazing. Still frozen solid. I assume your skin and other tissues are similarly frozen as well. I would love to study something like you." I raised an eyebrow. Say what?

"For scientific purposes, of course." He added quickly.

"I am not a sideshow-freak to be poked at. And I am a _somebody_, not a _something_. " I spat icily, glaring at the old man. How dare he.

"Doctor." Bruce whispered. "I would try to stay on her good side. She is…hostile when provoked."

"I see. My apologies, Miss Brookes. That was rude of me." He said sincerely.

"You don't say?" I bit back, earning a disapproving look from Bruce.

"Sorry." I sniffed at him and looked down at Warren. He was mumbling something in his sleep. It had been six hours or so since he had drank the sleeping medicine-laced water. Hopefully, he would wake up soon, especially if the next thing I said decided to use a whole lung full of air and I kicked the bucket.

"Okay. What else were you planning on doing to me? If you are going to do some screens, I can probably just use my powers to look and tell you." The uncomfortable look on his face mirrored the one that was now on Bruce's. It had shown up the second I mentioned my powers. "Oh, I see. You don't know if I still have them."

"There are cases of power loss after traumatic injuries." The doctor, being the Bad News Bearer that he was, told me.

"You haven't tried them out yet?" Bruce asked, surprised. "I don't know if I have known you to go without using your powers for so long."

"I was afraid." I admitted sheepishly. Bruce's eyebrows rose. "What? I didn't want to be by myself when I found out that I was powerless. Not that I am. But, you know…"

"Just try them, kid." Bruce said, stopping my ramblings.

Flicking my hand, I froze the unoccupied chair at the foot of my bed.

"Looks like I'm good. All that hype over nothing. Now, do I really have to go through with those tests?" I asked, sending a pleading look to the doctor.

He seemed to consider my offer then, gave a slight nod, "If you can honestly tell me how that scar is attached, no, you won't have to."

"What way other than honestly am I going to say anything? Do you seriously think that I am going to lie and just walk out of here waiting to literally rip my heart in two one day?" Did he think I was stupid? Seriously.

"Elle, just leave it alone and tell us." Bruce told me, giving me that 'look'. He had to stop hanging out with Clark.

I rolled my eyes and started to examine the scar. It was so cold, even compared to the rest of my body. I could feel the chunks of ice he had told me about and when I reached my heart I felt a slight change and again when I felt the area around my lung. Searching further, I figured out what it was.

"It's not attached at all and the scars on my heart and lung just like the rest of the organ tissue, not like the rest of the scar. No ice chunks." I told them. The ole doc looked a bit shocked.

"God, that's good to know." I jumped at the sound of the gruff voice.

I looked down to meet Warren's open eyes. "How long have you been awake?"

"I have been trying to wake up since 'guinea pigs'." He said, raising his head up and blinking a couple of times.

"Doctor, can I have a moment with them?" Bruce asked politely. The doctor nodded and exited the room, closing the door as he went.

"Are we in trouble, Daddy Warbucks?" I asked in a high-pitched child's voice.

"Oh, yes, Little Orphan Annie, you are in tons of trouble." He joked, rolling his eyes. Then, he got that far off look and chuckled. Aww, he was having a parental moment. How sweet. "You must really be worried. I don't think you have tried to pull the Little Orphan Annie routine since you were eleven and Al caught you trying to blast your way into the Batcave."

I smiled ruefully and waited for him to tell us what he had wanted to say.

"You are being moved temporarily to the Watchtower."

"You said." I reminded him.

"I am having you guys stay in the common room suites." Okay, cool. The common room suites were rooms with a single common room and eight rooms connected to it. Now, why was he being so…serious about all this.

"That's nice, Bruce. Now, what is it?"

Bruce started blushing slightly and continued, "You will be living in the same area, I am just warning you-"

"Bruce Wayne, if you dare give us a joint birds and bees speech, I am going to die of embarrassment." I squealed, covering my ears. "And given my current state of health, there is a great possibility it will happen."

"Okay, but you are warned." He gave me a hard look, then turned and pointed warningly at Warren. "And this time I won't be nice."

"I'm not going to do anything. Promise." Warren assured him, already losing color. Scaredy cat.

"Oh, it's not you I'm really worried about." He told him. Okay, so let's do the math. There are three people in the room. Bruce is not talking about himself. He is not talking about Warren. Three minus one minus one equels one: Me.

"Oyhhh! I'm a good girl, I am!" I squalled, channeling my inner Eliza Doolittle.

Bruce rolled his eyes and glanced down at his watched. Sighing, he rose and pulled his suit jacket back on.

"Leaving?"

"I have a budget meeting at nine o'clock." He said, drifting toward the door.

The clock under the television that was attached to the wall over the foot of my bed said 9:45.

"A little late, don't you think?"

"Wouldn't want them to think I cared much. Doesn't match my M.O." He told me, chuckling. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent are coming in from Smallville. They will probably be here by two. And I think Flash, J'onn, Green Lantern are coming around three when they get off their shift. Clark and Diana will be here by ten."

"That's why you were trying to stay so long. **Diana **is coming." I said like it was some big scandal.

"Shut your mouth, kid." He said, unknowingly blushing. Aww!

"See you, Brucey." I waved, grinning like a mad woman, knowing that I caught him.

"Bye, Duchess. And don't forget to call your work, boy. They probably wouldn't be happy if you suddenly disappeared without telling them." He walked out of the door, nearly running into a nurse. Flashing his billionaire smile, he apologized. I laughed out loud at the doe-eyed look she gave him. Bruce Wayne: Womanizing Billionaire Undercover Superhero. What a title.

"Does he seriously think I would try something when your whole family is in the same spacestation as me?" Warren asked, the stressed look on his face telling me he was really worried about what Bruce thought about him.

"Of course he doesn't. I mean, if we got caught, there would be no way for you to escape." I grinned when his face lost all color and his eyes turned as big as saucers. "And he doesn't really have a chance to play the menacing father. I think he thinks it's fun."

"Glad to be of amusement." Warren said, pulling me closer and burying his head in my lap. "What the hell did they give me? I feel like I have rocks in my head."

"Bruce gave you sleep medicine. Laced it in your water the last time. I was out the first time he did it." He didn't look happy at the fact that he had been drugged. I danced my fingers down his cheek bone, then weaved them through his hair. He still looked bad, just not as bad. "You need to go home and get some sleep and an actual meal."

"I'll be alright." He mumbled, sighing as leaned down and kissed his temple.

"I'm not going to die. I thought you heard that." I said, instantly regretting using the "D" word. His face looked pained and he turned away from me.

"I know." He said after a few minutes.

"Go home, have your mom bake something, take a shower, and go to bed." I ordered, wiggling a hand under his chin and turning his face back to mine. Staring in is eyes, I could see the fear in them, though he was trying hard to hide it. Poor Warren. "Go. I promise I will be here when I get back."

"You better be." He growled softly, before kissing my lips with his fiery ones. Gosh, I missed kissing those lips! He pulled away and stood up. "I'll be back tonight or tomorrow morning."

He bent down and brushed his lips across my forehead, whispered a goodbye, and then started to walk away.

"Wait!" I said, noticing something for the first time when he passed the glass paned window that stretched from ceiling to floor. "Where the hell am I?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, instantly back at my side with a worried and distraut expression. He obviously thought I had gone mental. "Elle, you're in the hospital."

"I know that." I snapped impatiently. We had already gone over this; I didn't have amnesia. "What I mean is that I know for a fact that Gotham Memorial does not put double-paned bullet proof glass in their room windows. Where the hell am I?"

Warren glanced over his shoulder at the window and then back at me, "They didn't tell you?"

"No! They have a bad habit of not telling me the details until I practically figure it out myself." I snapped. What had they 'forgotten' to tell me now?

"This is the SecWing of Gotham Memorial. Highly secure. Made just for freaks like us." He told me with a wry grin on his face.

"Why wasn't your mom up here when she was in here?" I asked.

"She wasn't freezing over, spontaniously shape-shifting, or spouting fire at nurses behinds." He remarked sarcastically.

"Me, Magenta and...your father?" I guessed, looking at him to see if I was right.

"Yeah He confirmed, a wave of anger passing through his eyes when I mentioned his father. Whoops. Change subject!

"Where is Magenta?" Now that I was technically in the clear, I was hoping I could beg the nurses into letting me visit.

"Three rooms to the right." He told me, pointing toward the direction of my feet with his right hand.

"You know that is technically the left?" I joked, grinning at him, causing him to scowl.

"Whatever." He smirked, leaning down to kiss me again.

"Okay, you can go home now." I said dismissively, not able to stop the impish smile that curled the sides of my mouth.

"Yes, ma'am." Warren drawled. He turned walked out the door and disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Just as Bruce said, I had a string of visitors starting from when Warren walked out the door all the way to three, when my 'brothers' dropped by. Green Lantern returned my cell phone, which put him high on my 'Most Loved' list. Gavin texted to see how I was doing. Layla called to say she would be coming by the next day with Will. I called Mrs. Peace, who was estatic that I was awake and she had her son back. When I asked what he was doing, she laughed and told me he had fallen asleep on the couch after she stuffed him full of her roast. Well, he had listened to me for the most part, though I still think he could have managed to throw in a shower before he conked out.

After I tired of making phonecalls, I sat on my bed in my lonely room twiddling my thumbs.

That lasted a whole minute before I hopped up (more accuately, I slowly and agonizingly pulled myself off the bed and onto my feet), thanking the Lord that all my tubes and stuff had been detached that morning and that Diana had thought to bring a bag of clothes.

Along with the clothes had come news of the length of my stay. I got to stay under lockdown in that lovely hotel room until we left for the Watchtower! Yippee!...NOT!

I was slightly pissed, to say the least.

I was fine.

Well, maybe not fine, but pretty close.

And I did not need to stay.

For some reason that they were not telling me, they thought otherwise.

Shifting through the clothes, I found a pair of fleece drawstring pants and a T-shirt and put them on. That was a process! I could not lift my left arm very well because it was still stiff, so I had to do some pretty fancy wiggling to get my shirt on. I managed however, and ventured out of my room.

Magenta was indeed three doors to my left and she was wide awake and her usual sardonic self, albeit slightly grumpy due to the fact that she was in traction.

"Hey," She and Zach looked to the door. Magenta looked pitiful. Her left leg was the one in traction and she had a cast on her right arm. Her right leg was bandaged. "Wow, they did a number on you."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "When did you wake up?"

"About two this morning."

"And you're walking? Dang, you got all the luck." Oh yeah, lucky me, the one who had the knife in her back.

"They gave me some low dose pain medicine so that I wouldn't be knocked out. I already have a scar, so no more bandages. And I am clear for take off...if they ever let me out of here, that is." I said told them, plopping myself down in a chair beside Zach. He looked brighter than Warren had. Well, of course he was _brighter_, but...oh, you know what I mean. He looked more put together at least.

"You heard about the ones that got away? Freaky, huh?" Zach asked.

"Yes, very." I agreed. Personally, I was more pissed than freaked out. I mean, we managed to rescue the boys, kick some tail, and diffuse a bomb. They managed to lose half the bad guys. Tell me you wouldn't be a little mad? Plus, I was going to have to miss classes at Sky High until they were all caught. Do you know how much work I had already racked up? Too much. You know how much more I would rack up while sitting in the Watchtower doing nothing? _Way_ too much.

"Dude! You're awake, too! That's awesome!" I turned and saw Ethan standing in the door with a thin retangular, green polka-dotted box.

"Yeah, I woke up this morning. What's in that box?" I asked curiously, craning my neck to see the logo on the top. Were those what I thought they were?

"Well, I figured you were all tired of hospital food so...Donuts." He said, opening the box with a flourish. Holding them in my face, he asked, "Which one do you want? I got kreme-filled, custurd-filled, sprinkles, and dulce de leche."

I reached in and plucked out a dulce de leche and took a bite. "Oh, I'm in heaven. Thank you, Ethan!"

"Your welcome," He grinned, offering the box to Zach, who choose one for himself and then the one Magenta said she wanted. "So, how's the shoulder?"

"Good, I guess. I can move it and everything, it's just got this crazy scar on it." I told him. I probably should have just got it printed so I could hand it to everyone who asked.

"Scar? Already?" Ethan asked, confused.

"Yeah, with me freezing and un-freezing in the O.R., I managed to heal myself and now the scar that's there has ice chunks in it. But, it's actually alright." I told him.

"Weird." He said. I thought that pretty much summed it up. "Where's Warren? I thought he was staying here."

"I sent him home." Ethan and Zach laughed. "What?"

"Warren Peace obeying orders. I never thought I would ever see it." Zach answered, still smiling.

"All his other girlfriends could only wish to have him wrapped around their fingers like you do." Magenta added.

"That's 'cause I'm special." I joked, grinning.

"To him you are." Magenta said, still serious. "Elle, I think you have officially captured the uncapturable Warren Peace."

That little inkling of a feeling pinged in my mind and I tucked it away. I wasn't going to say that yet. And you are probably going 'What the heck is she talking about?', right? Don't worry, if you don't have it figured out, it will be made very, very clear in the future.

"You make him sound like a conquest." I remarked. Warren was _not_ a conquest.

"Perhaps that's a little bit of what he is." She said, smiling now. Smiling about what, now I had no clue.

"Not exactly."

She actually laughed this time, "Come on, you can't say that since the first time you two fought, you haven't wanted him. Even just a little bit."

Okay, she might be somewhat right about that. But, I wouldn't say that outloud.

"He's not a conquest." I assured her.

"No, you would not have jumped in front of a knife for a conquest." She declared. There was something she was after. What was it?

"No, I wouldn't." I agreed.

"Ethan, man, I think I need something to drink." Zach had obviously grown uncomfortable with the conversation and pulled his friend out the door. I couldn't help but smirk after them.

"What are you getting at?" I asked her bluntly. She grinned and shook her head.

"I'm trying to get you to see what the hell you're missing." She told me, angered by my obliviousness. I just stared at her. "You are so blind!"

"Maj, a blind person doesn't need to _see_ what she already knows." I implied, beaming on the inside. Magenta's eyes went wide and her mouth popped open in shock.

"You-you already knew." She accused. I nodded, my grin breaking free and spreading across my face. "Why haven't you told him?"

"How do you know I haven't?"

"You haven't." She said knowingly. Damn, was she pshycic, too?

"Okay, I haven't. Sue me." I grumbled.

"You should."

"Probably."

"Assuredly." She corrected.

"Look, I know you share exactly how you feel about Zach, but I have been around long enough to know that just because you say it, doesn't mean you mean it." I told her, thinking of Gavin and his 'soulmates'.

"But you would mean it!" She exclaimed.

"But he might not and I don't want to make him say it. I like where we are right now. I don't want to mess it up." I told her, looking down at my lap. Okay, so I was slightly embarrassed. Again, sue me.

"You wouldn't be." She said. And how would she know?

* * *

**A/N:** I know that was a crappy place to end it, but well, it's my story and I can end a chapter where I want to end it! Please review! And a_ BIG_ thanks to all my past reviewers! I can't believe the number of reviews I have recieved lately! So, **_THANKS_**!


	25. Planes, Trains, and XRay Vision

**A/N: So, so, so sorry for taking so long to update. I think I rewrote this thing five time and and I am still not totally happy with it. It is SUPER long though. Actually, it's the longest chapter I have ever added and I probably should have split it but I have a plan for the rest of the chapters. Also, I have a request: Should I end the story and start a sequel. Or should I continue adding chapters to this story. Tell me what you think. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Bruce! I refuse to stay _one more **day**_ in this retched little room!" I screamed, stamping my bare foot on the ground.

"You have only been in here three days." He pointed out calmly, pinching the bridge of his nose. We had been at it a while by then. Let's just say that I was a bit cranky and being holed up was not exactly helping my mood.

"Three days? Try two weeks and three days!" I corrected haughtily.

"You weren't awake for two weeks. Technically, it's only three." He told me.

"Whatever!" I yelled, throwing up my hands. There was no arguing with him. "Why can't I leave? I am fine! I have _patiently_ let all those doctors poke and prod at that scar. I have _patiently_ sat here for the last two days without visitors. I have _patiently_ obeyed your stupid rules about where I can and can't go. Can go-_nowhere_. Can't go-_anywhere_. I can't even go to Magenta's room without an escort! Why am I being kept prisoner?"

"You are not being kept prisoner." Bruce retorted patiently, attempting to reason with me. It wasn't working.

"Hostage? Is that a better word?" I asked angrily. I felt like a hostage. Something, I had no clue what, had happened two days ago. My cell phone was taken away and I was not allowed to have any visitors and I was kind of pissed off about it. "Why am I being kept **hostage**?"

"You are not a hostage either." Bruce said. "Think of it as...witness protection."

"Witness protection." I asked in a dead-pan voice. He did **not** just say that. "You have gotta be kidding me. Bruce, when was the last time I actually needed protecting?"

"You were in here for a knife wound." He said bluntly, giving me a look.

"Because I jumped in front of it!" I pointed out, my voice rising. "_I_ was doing the protecting. The very reason I was sent to live on Earth again was because I was protecting you! Why is it that I get in more trouble protecting people than when I actually do something bad?"

"You are not in trouble." Bruce insisted, running a frustrated hand through his forehead. "I am trying to keep you alive!"

"By putting me in solitary confinement?" I asked angrily.

"You are not in solitary!"

"Then why have I not been allowed to leave in two days?" I roared, my temper flaring. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. Blowing up at Bruce would only get me in more trouble. When I thought I was calm enough, I spoke. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, picking up an empty water bottle and throwing it in the trash.

"What happened to put you on high alert?" I asked, leaning back against the side of the bed and crossing my arms.

"You are too smart for your own good." Bruce said disdainfully.

"Learned from the best." I smirked.

Bruce ignored my snarky comment and wearily said, "We found Ethan's ex-girlfriend dead in an alley two days ago."

I gasped. Oh. My. Gosh.

"We put everyone on lockdown. All of your friends have a guard in their house. Keeping you and Magenta here is safer than trying to move you and risking anything. We think they killed her because she knew too much, but we can't be sure."

"Dead men tell no tales." I quoted the old line. Bruce nodded grimly. "This sucks."

"Yes. It does." He agreed.

"Ethan knows?" I asked, remembering how devastated he had been when she betrayed him.

Bruce shook his head, "It's strictly need to know."

"And_ I_ need to know?"

"You would have figured it out before long. It's usually easier to just tell you things than have you break out of here, hack my computer, and make your own conclusions." He smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him. He knew me too well.

"Can I at least have floor access? Maybe a cell phone?" I begged. My cell had mysteriously disappeared two days ago as well. Probably to keep me in the dark because Warren, Layla, or Gavin would have spilled the beans.

"Giving you your cell phone would be pointless because I took everyone else's as well. We don't know what tracing technology they have. I will give you a little more moving room around here. We are setting the day for you all to go to the Watchtower back. It's going to be played by ear from now on. You can go anywhere on this floor except within twenty feet of room 245. Knowing you, I'm sure you already know why." He said, smiling.

"Not exactly planning on paying him a visit anytime soon." I told him. That was the last thing I wanted to do. "I can go see Magenta again?"

"As long as you don't tell her about Ethan's ex-girlfriend." I nodded. I could deal with that. Bruce started to straighten his jacket, "I have a meeting that I have to get to. I will call ahead to inform the hospital when you and Magenta need to get your things together. See you later, Duchess."

He gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head, then left. I changed out of the pajamas I had kept on since that morning and found a pair of track pants and T-shirt. After I got dressed, I went to Magenta's room. She was asleep, so I went down the hall to see what all was going on in the place.

There was about fifty rooms on the floor and the last five of them were barricaded off from the rest by a thick bulletproof-glass wall with a seriously heavy duty door. I'm talking iron bars, three locks, and an electric current, the works. My guess was Baron Battle was safely behind that door. Which meant I wasn't technically supposed to be there, near that door. But I was not exactly one to follow the rules, so I stood there, looking through the glass wall.

To my surprise, a child, maybe seven years old, was staring back at me. Why would they let a kid be on the same side of the glass as that monster that I had put in there?

With his blonde hair falling haphazardly across his forehead, he looked so sad, like he was the loneliest person in the world. He raised his hand tentatively, as if he were afraid of how I might respond. Smiling at him, I raised my waggled my fingers back at him. His pale face broke out in a toothy grin that spread all the way to his big, shining green eyes.

He started making these funny, fishy faces, and I was confused for a minute before I realized he was actually trying to talk and I couldn't hear him. Duh, Elle.

I was a decent lip-reader, but when I responded to his mouthed 'hello', he looked perplexed. Realizing he could not understand me, I held up a finger, signaling for him to stay there, and ran back to the nurses station. The nurse that was there handed me a pen and paper without asking why.

When I got back, the kid was still there, sitting on the floor in front of the glass.

I scrawled 'Hi' on the top of my paper. Leaning close, he grinned and looked back up at me.

'What is your name?' he mouthed. I wrote it on the paper.

He extended his thumb and index finger and held it up, giving me a questioning nod. At first I thought he was giving me the 'Loser' signal, but then I saw that he was asking if it was pronounced like the letter 'L'.

I nodded and wrote his own question on my paper.

'Jack Tyler.'

Tyler?

There was no way. This blonde, green-eyed kid could not...no, it wasn't possible.

I wrote his name on the paper with a question mark beside it. He nodded. It was right.

Almost scared to ask, I wrote 'Do you have a big brother?'

He nodded sadly and that little ray of suspicion expanded into a demanding neon sign. Despite my curiosity, I did not want to find out anymore. I know. So not my M.O., but I was not about to find out my best friend was a big fat liar and not be able to get my hands on him right then. I knew that if I did find out who this kid was and my suspicions were correct, I would still be stuck in the hospital, letting my anger brew and then when I finally did see Gavin, I was likely to explode. Not good. So, I kept myself in the dark.

So, I wrote, 'Why are you on that side of the glass? You don't look sick.'

Now it was my turn to wait as he ran down the short hall and skidded on his sock feet into a room. He returned with his own piece of paper. Concentrating, he carefully wrote three lines and then held up the paper to the glass.

It said, 'I am not sick. Things do funny stuff when I am around. They put me here because I scare them. Are you here because you scare people?'

Poor kid. Most children with telepathic powers don't know how to control them, but to lock them away? That was low

While thinking about this, I wrote my answer, 'No, I am in here because a scary guy did something to me. But I did something bad back to him. He is on that side of the glass, too.'

The boy took it all in and then set to writing his own response.

Smiling shyly, he held the paper up. 'He must be really mean to hurt someone pretty like you.'

A flirt. I was beginning to think my suspicion was defiantly right.

I laughed despite what I was thinking and responded. We wrote back and forth until both of our pieces of paper were full of script. I found out that he was turning seven in three days. I told him he had a very good vocabulary for a six year old. He said that he could not have TV in his room, but they let him have books and he had learned to read when he was four. Also, he wanted to be an explorer and go all over the world. Apparently, he had not left the hospital since he was two and could not even remember ever being outside.

How horrible is that? Never being able to feel the wind or bask in the heat of the sun. Being confined to the same space for years and years. Like a prisoner.

I never asked him who his parents were and he only referred to them as 'they', but I couldn't stop that tickling feeling that my curiosity was causing. I had a bad feeling I already knew the answer anyway. And, boy, did it make me mad.

"What are you doin' here?" I heard that deep Cajun voice ask. Nurse Simone was standing over me, hands on her hips, watching as I wrote on the last little edge of paper that I had.

"Talking." I said, grinning apologetically up at her.

"You know they would have a million fits if they knew you were anywhere near here." She said, frowning.

"I know, but I'm not really in much danger, right? I mean, he's locked in. Isn't he?" I never thought to ask if he was confined to that room. Obviously Jack was not, but he wasn't really a homicidal maniac...I didn't think.

"He would have to do some pretty fancy stepping to get out of there, that's for sure, but still..." She bit her lips as Jack sent her the big-eyed, puppy stare that struck me like a ton of bricks. I already knew it like the back of my hand. I should...I had seen Gavin do it a million times.

"Is he really all by himself in there?" I asked, hoping maybe 'they' visited him sometimes.

"They don't want to be tied to him." She said in disgust. "He's dangerous, you see."

"He told me that. What does he do?" I had not asked what his specific power was. Stupid me.

"Anything metal is drawn to him. He can control it, he just doesn't realize what he is doing. This door has a special cap on the other side to keep it from flying off the hinges when he comes out of his room." She told me. Jack was looking between the two of us, obviously trying to figure out what we were talking about.

"He can't come out of there?" I asked. Being confined in there just sounded so awful.

She shook her head. "Once a week a therapist comes to help him work on controlling his powers, but she had not made any progress. She'll set a small metal ball on the table and it will zoom right to him, but nothing will happen after that. He doesn't have any friends because he can't get out of the containment room. It's so sad."

I nodded in agreement with her and jumped slightly at the muted sound of Jack knocking on the glass. He gave me a questioning look and held up his paper, pointing to the spot he had just written on.

'Is she going to make you leave?'

I asked Nurse Simone. She frowned deeper and seemed to consider it, then shook her head. "Not yet, but you will have to leave by eight-thirty. That's his bedtime."

I giggled and asked for another piece of paper. She handed me one and Jack re-loaded while she was gone.

'Why did you laugh?' was the first thing out of his mouth...er...on his paper.

'Somebody still has a bedtime.' I joked.

He stuck his tongue out at me and then started writing again.

'Do you make things happen like I do?'

I nodded.

'What can you make move?' He asked. It was ironic how Nurse Simone and I had just been talking about that.

'Ice. I create it though.' He squinted at me suspiciously.

'Let me see.' He demanded.

I twirled my fingers and spikes of ice shot up. He gave an excited look and clapped for me. Binding the bottoms of the spikes and set my crystal crown on my head.

'You're a princess.' He wrote to me, giggling. Jumping up, he bowed like a gentleman. In my baggy track pants, I curtsied back. Both of us fell to the floor clutching our stomachs, laughing. 'Make something else happen.'

This kid was demanding!

I spent the next hour making one ice statue after the next. I mean, I went from a choo-choo train to a little birds that I made float through the air.

It was fun believe it oor not and it seemed like he was really happy, which the nurses later told me was a miracle.

Then, of course, it was his bedtime and I told him goodnight as the nurse shuffled him into his room.

It took all I had not to go hijack the nearest phone and ask Gavin if he had some relation to this boy. If he did, I was pretty sure at that moment I would have killed him. Simple as that. But, all the similarities could just be a coincidence and I was just jumping the gun.

The next couple of days were pretty much the same. I would spend the morning talking to Magenta, eat lunch, then around six I would go visit Jack. We convinced the nurse to give us two decks of cards and created our own game. We would put down one card at a time and let them pile up. If we both put down the same card, you would put down five and whoever had the highest fifth card could put their cards aside, the one with the lower card picked up their entire stack. The one left with all of their cards loses.

And the little bugger won every single game.

I think he cheated. Except I couldn't prove it because he looked so dang innocent.

I was able to get a call to Bruce and beg him to bring me a few things. Metal-free things.

"Why do you want all this?" Was his only question.

I told him not to worry about it and just bring it to me by the next day. He did.

You should have seen Jack's face when the nurse on his side led him into the hall blindfolded and there the other nurses and I were surrounded by balloons and each holding cupcakes decorated with the number seven. He had his own with a large '7' candle-ridden cupcake waiting for him on his side. As well as a wrapped box.

He was so shocked that he just burst into tears. Still crying, he sat down and ripped the airplane and boat detailed paper from the box and pulled off the lid.

He whooped so loud with joy that even I heard it through the glass.

"This is so cool!" I saw him exclaim. Not even bothering to engulf his cupcake as most kids would, Jack ran around the small hall, 'flying' his all-plastic airplane.

You know how grown-ups always say that doing something good for someone in turn makes you feel good? I totally agree. I know. Elle is agreeing with grown-ups. Call the FBI, we might have a missing persons case...just kidding.

Running back into his room, Jack got out the little notepad that one of the nurses had given him and wrote in huge letters 'THANK YOU!'

'Your welcome' I wrote back, not able to keep the huge smile off of my face.

The nurses and I sang Happy Birthday, not that he could hear it, but he humored us by pretending he did, and we all ate our cupcakes. He blew out his candle and made a wish. We clapped. It was all just adorable.

When he had been carted off to bed by his nurse, Nurse Simone pulled me aside.

"You are going to break his heart when you leave in a few days, you know that?" She sounded pissed. "You will end up doing exactly what everyone else in his life has done: abandon him."

"I can still write to him." I told her.

"He's seven! Children that age don't write letters. You have become his friend and now he thinks you practically make the sun shine. You are going to crush him." She told me, her eyes flashing with fury.

"I have done nothing but write back and forth to him since I met him." I knew the kid looked up to me now, but what could I say? _'Yeah, Nurse Simone, I am totally going to do just that.' ?_ No. "I can't promise that I ever be able to visit him again. For all I know, I will be in hiding the rest of my life. I am just going to have to explain that to him somehow."

"You might want to clear things up pretty soon then because I won't see that poor boy's feeling hurt." She growled before turning on a heel and walking back to the nurses station.

After lunch the next day, I went over to the dividing wall and sat to wait for Jack.

He came out soon with his new toy in tow.

He told me 'thank you' again and uncannily picked up on my depressed mood.

'What's wrong?' He asked.

'I am going to have to leave sometime in the next few days, I think.' I wrote back, drawing a frowning face to the side.

He looked devastated. 'But you will still visit me, right?'

I shook my head and shrugged. Tears started to stream out of his green eyes. Oh, you don't even know how bad I felt right then.

'I can write to you and I might get to come see you sometimes, but not everyday.'

'But I wished that you would stay forever.' He wrote, pathetic tear drops blotting his words. 'I wished for it.'

Now I was getting teary-eyed. 'I will come visit.'

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

'Then you will still be my friend?' He sent me a pleading look.

'Yes, I will always be your friend.' I told him.

'Good.' Then, just like a child would, he promptly changed the subject, reassured that I was going to keep my promise. 'My plane flew all the way to Africa yesterday.'

On top of wanting to be an explorer, Jack was also going to be a writer and tell the whole world everything he saw on his adventures.

'Really? Did he see lions?'

'Big ones! They growled like this.' He raised his hands up in claws and bared his teeth.

I jumped back like I was frightened, 'Oh, I bet he was scared!'

He nodded, 'But he just flew like this.' He made a whooshing upper-cut with his hand, slicing through the air. 'And went really fast and went so fast that he crashed into a mountain and met a giraffe.'

I didn't want to bust his bubble by telling him giraffe's probably didn't live on mountains, so I asked what happened next.

You probably won't find his story nearly as interesting as I did and probably think that I am crazy practically baby-sitting for some kid I hardly knew and didn't have to be around. But I was having fun and that was that.

Two days after Jack's plane flew to Africa, I was told Bruce had called and told me to pack my stuff up. Magenta had been taken out of traction the day before and could sit in a wheelchair. I barely had time to get all of my stuff in a bag, make sure Magenta was ready to go, and scrawl a note to Jack before Black Canary came busting through the ward door.

"Come on, we have to go." She said, taking my arm and practically dragging me out of the door. A nurse came behind us with Magenta in a wheelchair. Black Canary and I weren't just best buds or anything, if you could tell by her abruptness. She was just not a welcoming person. Except when it came to Ollie. She _loved _to welcome him. Yeah, bad inntuendo there, sorry. But Green Arrow was the only person who was really close to her.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she pulled me through empty halls and down stairwells.

"Loading dock. I have a van waiting out there. An ambulance can't be spared tonight or you would be riding in one of those." She said, just before opening a door and suddenly a chilly wind came flying in. A black van sat at the loading dock, waiting for us. "Get in."

I felt very 'undercover spy on a mission' at that moment. Just thought you would like to know.

From the loading dock, I could not tell where we went. Everything would shift from one side of the van to another as we turned, but as for which way we were going, I wasn't sure.

I felt it when we hit a different type of ground. It was bumpy and we would skid a little when the van went to fast. We were on a gravel road. It was safe to say that we were defiantly out of Gotham by then. Soon, the vehicle came to a stop and the doors were opened.

Standing outside in the open field were Layla, Will, Ethan, Zach, Warren, and…Gavin. I didn't think that he would have to come. His school is…well, we'll leave it at 'secure', though it is much, much more.

I practically leapt out of the truck and into Warren's arms, burying my face in his chest. His strong arms went around me and I tilted my face up to kiss the soft skin of his neck. Settling back against his chest, I felt his lips press into my hair and I caught the amused look on Layla's face. She was probably thinking about the same thing as Magenta, Zach, and Ethan had. I had broken the un-breakable Warren Peace. Well, broken is a bad word. He was perfect. All I had done was find him under that scary bad-boy façade.

"They should be here soon." Green Arrow said to Black Canary as she slid from the drivers seat.

I realized that it wasn't only may friends standing there, but various members of my family as well. Ones that I had expected to be in the Watchtower right then.

Diana was standing near Gavin. Flash was not to far from Warren and me. Vigilante was drifting back toward Layla after having helped Magenta out of the van. John Stewart, Green Lantern, was behind Will. Green Arrow stood with Black Canary now, but had come from the direction Ethan was standing. J'onn was standing over Magenta and Zach, checking on her. He had come to see me before I was put on lockdown and said I was amazing (was that ever really to question anyway?) because of how I healed.

"Why are they all…hovering?" I asked Warren, whispering low enough that I hoped they wouldn't hear.

"Protection Detail is what Gavin calls it." He whispered back, his breath tickling my ear.

"They are your bodyguards?" I was absolutely stunned. I could remember a time when this many members of the JL had been on single person protection detail.

"Yes." He growled. Somebody didn't think that he needed to be protected. "And they have been_ living_ with us."

The spitefulness in his voice told me that he was a bit irritated about that.

"Who had you? Flash?" I guessed.

"You are **so** lucky he's fast." He growled angrily, looking down at me.

"That bad?" I asked, knowing it probably was. Flash was a bit…hyper at times. And irritating. Let's just say his personality and Warren's personality didn't exactly fall in the same category.

"You have no idea." He assured me, readjusting his grip on my waist, effectively pulling me closer to him. I giggled at his tone and leaned into his chest. "How was the hospital?"

"It was horrible for the days that they locked me in, but once I was out it was pretty cool. There was this little super-kid I met that I played cards with and listened to his stories." Thinking about Jack reminded me that I had to corner Gavin at some point and make sure that he was not in anyway related to that poor little boy. If he was, I honestly didn't know what I was going to do.

"Sounds like a blast." He drawled sarcastically.

"It was." I argued. I became aware of a low 'vazoom' sound that was coming from somewhere above me. It grew louder and louder until the noise was almost deafening. Then with a silent landing, a space capsule stood before us.

* * *

"For the record: You're the coolest person I've ever met." Zach told me as he gawked at the inside of the Watchtower.

"Of course, I am...ice girl, remember. I am the walking ad campaign for 'cool'." I joked, tugging on my backpack.

"Dude! This is just like Star Wars! Put in a few Clones and a guy in a black cape and-" Ethan stopped and swallowed when he saw Bruce in his full Batman gear walking toward us, dark cape flaring behind him.

"I heard that." He smirked.

Ethan cowered down, "I didn't mean that you are evil, er, well, in the end Darth Vader didn't end up being so evil...he was Luke's father...and I-"

"I've seen the movie." Bruce stopped him. With a contemplating shrug, he said, "It was alright."

"Y-yes, sir. It was pretty good." Ethan agreed, looking to me for help.

"Okay, so guys, the Justice League. Justice League, the guys." I told them, pointing from one group to another. "Where are we staying?"

"I have to go on rounds now, but Shayera is going to show you which rooms you are staying in." Bruce said, pointing us toward Hawkgirl.

While everyone else followed Shayera, I stayed behind to talk to Bruce. "You get any hits yet?"

"We received a tip that a super is living in a hotel in Gotham, but that could be anybody." He told me. His face told me he thought it might be more than just 'anybody'.

"But it's probably somebody, right?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't know." He sighed. "We'll get them, Elle. And then you can go back to Maxville."

"Who would have ever thought that I would willingly go back down?" I laughed.

"If they saw the way you reacted when you were told you were going there: nobody." He said, grinning. "At least you have more friends now. For awhile, I thought you might leave your social circle to Gavin and Dick."

The mention of Gavin reminded me of Jack.

"Hey, you don't happen to have his families backgrounds or anything do you?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Why do you want those?" Then he did have them. If he didn't, he would have said 'no' straight away.

"Let's just say that I have found something and want to know if my hunch is correct." I told him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You have a hunch? About what?"

"Just something, okay." I should have never brought it up to Bruce. He would never let it drop.

"Then I can't help you. I have to go on rounds. I'll talk to you later." He said, starting to walk passed me, then paused and leaned in toward my ear. "But if I were you, I would use all those detective skills that your favorite billionaire taught you and make use of your resources."

He just practically gave me permission to use the computers! That was a first. He was usually mad at me for 'making use of my resources'. Of course, in the past I had used it to draw little mustaches on all of the profile pictures of the Justice League members.

"Thank you." I squealed, throwing my arms around him. "Oh, and be careful."

"Always am." He smirked. You know, that sounded so much like something I would say that it wasn't even funny.

Re-adjusting the bag of clothes on my shoulders, I set off down the hall to catch up with the others. I found them in the common room suite in Sector Seven.

"This is so cool." I heard Zach say before I entered.

"We each get our own room?" Layla asked excitedly.

"Yes. No fighting or I choose for you." Hawkgirl said just as I walked through the door.

"I call that one!" Everyone screamed at once. A great deal of scuffling around and dodging each other occurred before everyone was settled in a doorway. Around the circular common room, the occupants were Layla directly to the left, then Will, then Warren, then Ethan. Separating those for rooms from the rest was a huge wall fountain decoration, then it was Zach's room, then Magenta's, an empty one that would be mine as soon as I bothered to walk over there, and then Gavin was closest to the right of the door.

"Well, that was...effective." Shayera commented, raising an eyebrow. "Elle, how nice to have you back."

"Glad to be back." I told her, giving her a quick hug. She wasn't much of a hugger, really.

"You are okay, right?" She asked. I knew she wasn't talking about my physical injuries. She knew how it felt to hurt people. Sometimes it bothered her more than others, no matter that she was the one from the war world.

"I'm alright." I lied. Truthfully, I was still cringing inside every time I thought of what I had done to Baron Battles arm. Not that I was sympathetic toward him, but I was afraid of what I had done.

"Good." She said shortly. "I think they are cooking a 'Welcome Home' breakfast for you in the morning. Be prepared, it's John, Flash, Green Arrow, and Vigilante cooking."

"That's scary." I said, thinking of the havoc that was probably going on in that kitchen.

"My thoughts exactly." She grinned, walking out of the door.

I made my way to my room and placed my bag on my bed.

"You look worried." A rumbling voice echoed through my room. I turned to find Warren leaning with his arms crossed against my door frame.

"Just tired." I told him. I wasn't going to tell him why. I had not slept a full night since I woke up in the hospital. Playing cards with Jack had helped me forget about my dreams during the day, but at night they were back full force, getting worse and worse.

He walked further into the room and looped his arms around my waist, pulling my back into his chest. Leaning over my shoulder, he kissed my cheek.

"I missed you." I sighed, letting my head fall back against his shoulder. He brought his line of feather light kisses to my ear and then down my jaw, finally coming to rest on the sensitive skin on my neck.

"Missed you, too." He whispered, his lips moving against my neck, making my shiver. He nipped the skin, surprising me, and I gasped. I felt him grin against my neck and pull me closer. With his lips still pressed against my skin, he asked, "Do you want your Christmas present now or later?"

What kind of question was that?

"Now!" I squealed, jumping away from him. He snatched after me, groaning, wanting me to get back in his embrace. "Wait, we all have to exchange gifts and play our game!"

We had agreed to have a Greedy Christmas, only giving direct gifts to our boyfriend or girlfriend. Well, and mothers and fathers, surrogate mothers and fathers, and so forth. The rule was your gift had to be funny and inexpensive.

"You want yours before you go tell them?" He asked, finally catching me and pulling me back against him, burying his face back into my neck.

"Fine." I sighed, letting myself relax against him. He lightly kissed my neck and then turned me in his arms, capturing my lips with his. I melted. We were so intoxicated by each other that we threw the present idea to the wind and threw all of our attention into our passionate embrace. I don't know if it was me who fell onto the bed, or him who pushed me, but we ended up there. Eventually, Warren pulled away, trying to breath. Propping himself up on one arm, he used the other to run his finger through my hair and down to caress my cheek, gazing at me intently. I nuzzled his hand and leaned up again to kiss him. He refused to let me kiss him hard and fast, and coaxed my mouth at a teasingly slow pace. "Warren." I growled, then felt him smile against my mouth. Irritated, I rolled so that I had advantage over him and pressed my lips harder his. He threaded one hand into my hair and one around my waist, his hand slipping under my shirt to rest on my back, and refused to let me move away. I took his lower lip into my mouth and bit gently, before sucking slightly. He moaned against my mouth and tried to pull me back into a kiss. I pulled away, grinning devilishly at him.

"Elle," He groaned, trying to pull me closer. I leaned within a breath of his mouth and then stopped.

"I want my present." I whispered, my lips barely brushing against his.

Warren glared up at me, "You are so evil." He growled.

"I know." I giggled before pecking his lips and hopping off of the bed. I held out my hand, "Come on."

Still glaring at me, he shook his head, "I'll be in there in a minute."

Oh. OH.

"Um, right." I said, trying not to blush. "I'll just...go. I think we should do the group present thing first."

"Don't forget your presents." He reminded me. I grabbed them from my bag and walked out of the room.

"PRESENT TIME!" I yelled, causing everyone to spill out of the room they were in.

"Oh-em-gee! I almost forgot!" Layla exclaimed before disappearing into her room and coming back with a medium sized box wrapped in Christmas paper.

Everyone else went to retrieve their's as well. Gavin was left standing in his doorway, present-less.

"I'll just go in my room and read or something." He said, starting to shut the sliding door.

"Wait!" I said, before shoving my box in his hands and dashing out of the common room door.

"Hey, where are those fan presents that were cleared? I need one for a Christmas present." I said to Flash when I found him. From time to time, a thankful citizen would send the members tokens of appreciation and most of the time, the Justice League just kept them in storage or donated them to a charity.

"I think we put them in a storage room." He told me. "Let's check."

He scooped me up in his arms and we flew through the halls and came to stop outside locked door. Dialing the code at lightning speed, he opened the door to reveal a big pile of...well, junk. Examining the pile carefully, I found the coolest thing I had ever laid eyes on. Really, I didn't even know they made these. AND it was my favorite colors! I was so getting this one.

Tying it up in a pillow case (I know, crappy, but it was what I had) and returned triumphantly holding the gift over my head. "We have present!"

"Great!" Layla clapped, settling on the couch. Everyone else was scattered around the room. "Who has the numbers?"

"Me." Magenta said from her position on the love seat. She was neatly laid across it, her head resting against Zach's thigh. "Here."

I took the numbered slips, cupped them in my hands, and let everyone draw one.

"Alright, the rules are: Number 1 picks a present and unwraps it. Then Number 2 can either pick a new present from the pile or take Number 1's. If he takes Number 1's, Number 1 can either take it back, meaning that the present was chosen three times and would be 'dead' so no one else could pick it, or he can choose a new present. Then the picking of new presents would resume by Number 3. The rules apply to all the Numbers and at the end, Number 1 has his choice of any live present on the floor. Get it?" I asked, looking around. Everyone nodded.

"What's everyone's number?" Zach asked.

Number 1 was Magenta.

Number 2 was Ethan.

Number 3 was Elle.

Number 4 was Warren.

Number 5 was Gavin.

Number 6 was Layla.

Number 7 was Zach.

Number 8 was Will.

Zach rose from the love seat and Magenta directed him around until he chose the gift she wanted. It was the one Will had brought.

"This had better be good." She told him. He grinned at her as she began to unwrap it. It was a pink flamingo. Yes, a lawn ornament. No kidding. All of us burst out laughing at the wide-eyed look Magenta gave the plastic thing in her hands. "What the heck is this?"

"A pink flamingo." Will told her, clamping his mouth shut to keep from laughing. Magenta crinkled her nose at the offending bird and set it gingerly down beside her. Everyone started laughing harder.

"Ethan! You're next!" Layla yelled over the giggling. Ethan rose from his seat on the floor, picked the gift Gavin 'brought', and then took his seat back beside Warren, who was across the presents from me.

He unwrapped the gift.

"Oh Crap! R2D2 backpack! Awesome!" He held the backpack up triumphantly. Dang, and I so wanted that. I couldn't take it then...he loved it.

I rose and filched around the presents until I chose the box that Layla had brought in. It was wrapped in very decorated, completely bio-degradable paper and had a bow made of a cluster of flowers. Too cute. I ripped away the paper and the flowers went flying and I dug through the tissue paper inside to find a huge tiara that looked like it came from the girl's dress-up isle.

I laughed and settled it on top of my head, "They call me _Princess_ Elle." I declared dramatically.

"Warren your turn." Layla said. Warren walked on his knees to reach the present pile and looked at them critically. He nudged one with his hand to inspect it and then a devious smile spread across his face and he looked at me.

No, he wouldn't.

I thought.

He leaned over the boxes and plucked the crown from my head and put it on his!

Yes, my boyfriend was wearing a tiara. My Warren Peace was wearing a tiara. _Warren Peace._

Then he stood and bowed, "They call me _Princess_ Warren." He said in a falsetto.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh my ass off or die of embarrassment.

I chose the former and fell over clutching my stomach when he settled back in his seat.

"You-your pick Ellll-lle." Layla said through her peals of laughter. Warren sat grinning at me.

"Fir-rst. I want to know who abducted my boyfriend?" I asked, trying not to laugh. Warren just shrugged and smiled wider.

"I warned you. He is full of surprises." Layla said, still laughing.

I took shook my head and picked another present. It was Ethan's and ended up being a 'whatever' clock. All the numbers were sliding off of the square back board while the word 'whatever' arched over the top.

"Awesome!" The game ended with Magenta stealing a book of pranks from Will, leaving him with his pink flamingo. Ethan kept the backpack. I got a bunch of fuzzy socks that didn't have matches. Warren had that damned tiara. Gavin took my Whatever clock, leaving me to pick up the socks. Layla had a tuxedo t-shirt, but Zach stole it from her and she ended up with a rubber chicken. All in all, Best. Christmas. Ever. Especially after the gang split up and went to various rooms and Warren pulled me into his...wearing his tiara.

He shut the door and turned to me, drawing the crown from his head.

"I think this is yours." He smirked and placed it on my head. "It's much prettier on you."

"Why, thank you. Should you be knighted for returning the crown to fair lady?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck and looking up at him with a grin.

"Hmm, no, I think a prize is in order, however." He told me seriously, his strong arms winding around my waist.

"Would a kiss be a fair prize, kind sir?" I asked.

"Yeah." Then my mouth was molded to his and I was in heaven. My impatience eventually got the better of me and I pulled away. Before I could speak, he held up his hand and exasperantly said, "Let me guess. You want your present."

"Wow, mind reader and pyro. I like it." I said releasing him so that he could go get my present.

"I'm sure you do." He rolled his eyes and retrieved the gift. "You want yours first?"

"No, you can open yours first." I said, revealing a small bag that I was holding. "I have it on good authority that you will love it…so just humor me if you don't."

He smiled and took the bag from my hands. "I'm sure I will."

"Humor me?" I fished, knowing that was not what he really meant.

"Like the gift." He corrected me before sitting on his bed. He pulled the red and orange crepe paper out and then the actual gift that was wrapped in more paper. The bag fell to the floor and he pulled the paper off. It was a guitar strap for his electric guitar, his other love. He had yet to get a new one after the old one was destroyed in the fire. His precious guitar had survived, miraculously. This new strap had flames coming up either end to meet the embroidered wording in the middle.

"You had to do it." He smirked.

"Yep." I grinned as he ran his fingers over the red-threaded 'Hotshot' written in the middle.

"My mom was right." He told me, looking up at me.

"How do you know that was my 'good authority'?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

"I'm positive that's who it is. No one else knows I even play the guitar, let alone that my old strap is gone." He told me.

"You have never played for the others?" I asked, surprised to find out that he was a closet guitarist. I just assumed everyone else knew.

"No. You only know because you went through my room and found my guitar." True. I had pulled the guitar out from under his bed one day when I was being nosey.

"You play really well though." I told him, not understanding why he would not show everyone his talent.

"I know, but I just never thought about playing for them." He shrugged, before pulling out a small box wrapped in blue paper with a silver ribbon bow and giving it to me. "Merry Christmas."

I pulled the box free of the bow and then pulled off the paper. The rectangular box could hold only two things, and both of them were jewelry. Taking the top off, I found a gorgeous silver necklace with a beautiful pendant. It was the shape of a flame, but it was made of glass and had a few blue colored strips running through the middle. It was only about the size of a penny, but it seemed to glow enough to make the entire room brighter. I couldn't hold back the gasp when I first saw it. It was like a small frozen flame.

"You like it?" He asked, shifting slightly on the bed. He was nervous. How cute.

I nodded, touching it tenderly, "I love it. It's beautiful. Can you put it on me?"

He took the necklace carefully from the box and I turned my back to him so that he could loop it over my head and latch it. He leaned in close and I felt his lips brush my ear, then sneak down to my neck and place one of his fiery kisses. I arched my neck back, leaning back into him. Eventually, we got back to the same place we were in my room earlier and I found myself running my fingers across Warren's abs under his shirt and enjoying the feeling of his skin contracting while still kissing him. Suddenly, he jerked away and gently, but firmly, pushed my hand away.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Mr. Wayne's in the next room." He said, still breathing hard, a wild, wide-eyed look on his face.

"Are you suddenly telepathic?" I asked, slightly angry that he stopped and was spouting nonsense.

"No. I hear him. Can't you?" I sat up and listened.

"All I hear is Gavin talking to Magenta and Zach." I told him irritantly. Sitting up, I ran my fingers through my hair and fixed my top. "You have gotta get over this little fear you have of him.

"He's there." He insisted. "I heard him. I don't want to get caught. I _like_ living."

I snorted. "He's on rounds right now. There is no way he's in that room."

"Someone is then. That was not Gavin that I heard." He told me. He was getting angry now, too. I guess I would get mad if someone didn't believe me.

"Fine. I'll see who it is then." I snapped, rising from the bed and going to the door. I stabbed the button hard and the door slid open. Standing right next to the sofa was a tall man in a blazing red cape. Dang it. He had been right, there was someone in there. I turned sharply toward Warren. "I apologize."

He sent me a dazzling smile, "You should have known I was right."

"I said I was sorry." I snapped moodily. I hate being wrong. Clark heard me talking and turned around.

"You didn't come to the computer room. I was kind of surprised." Clark said, all but glaring at Warren, who had come up behind me.

"We were having a Christmas party." I told him. "Besides, I didn't even know you were here."

He laughed and pulled me into a hug. "That's why you are supposed to come look, Duchess."

"I'll remember that next time." I said, hugging back.

"By the way," He whispered. "Is there a reason your boyfriend is more scared of Bats, than of me?"

I couldn't stop the grin, "I kind of fell asleep in the same room as Warren a few months ago and Bruce kind of threatened him. I think it rattled him a bit."

"I can think of a few things to say that would make him more than rattled." Clark chuckled menacingly.

Oh, that could be bad.

I mean, how scary would it be for **_Superman_ to threaten you?**

"Please don't." I begged.

"I'll be nice...for now." He told me. Then, in a much lower, ominous voice said, "But you better keep your hands to yourself from now on."

I just about died. I felt myself blush straight down to my toes. It was horrible!

"Yes, sir." I squeaked.

"Now, I do have to go on rounds and will not be in the computer room for you to not come visit. I'll see you in the morning, Duchess. 'Night." He said, letting me go.

"Goodnight." I said, watching him leave the room before turning to Warren. His eyes were wide with fear, knowing from my reaction that something Clark said was embarrassing.

Pulling me back into the room, he ran his hand through his hair and asked, "What?"

"X-ray vision." I said softly, biting my lips to hold back the grin. Warren's eyes bulged out of his head. I grinned, "Don't worry. He was more worried about what I was doing than what you were doing."

That didn't seem to help Warren a bit.

"Can't you just have normal parents?" Warren asked suddenly, falling onto the bed with a groan.

"Because then I wouldn't be the really cool, wonderful ice girl you see today." I told him, laying down on the bed and resting my head on his chest. "I would be a snobby, un-cool socialite. I probably would think I was too cool to talk to you if we ever happened to meet, which would be unlikely."

Warren wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer, "That's true, isn't it."

"Yes." I said, cuddling up to his warmth. After awhile, I asked "What time is it?"

"Almost ten for us. I don't know what kind of time they call it here." He murmured sleepily.

"I probably should get to bed. They'll wake me up at an insane hour tomorrow." I grumbled against his chest.

"You're in a bed." He pointed out, tightening his grip around me.

"Don't think Bruce or Clark would see it that way exactly." I told him, not moving.

"Fine." He growled, moving quickly. He scooped me up into his strong arms and carried me out the door to my own room. Half way there, he nearly tripped, making us laugh loudly and a few of the guys shouted for us to be quiet. Once in my room, he collapsed with me on my bed. "Now we are in your bed."

I giggled and curled up against him, "Once again, don't think that's how it works. But I can say that I like it better."

"Yeah, well, you get your own personal space heater. I can see where that would come in handy." He said into my hair.

"Who are you? Jacob?" I asked, letting my eyes close.

"No, I'm your's." He whispered in my ear. Something about those words just made me tingle all over.

"Good." I remarked. "I like it that way."

"You don't want a werewolf to kiss?"

"You actually read the Twilight series?" Dang, I had hoped that that was one more set of books that I had on him. Guess I was wrong.

"No." He replied.

"Then how did you know that?"

"Have you been to our school lately?"

"Not in a month or so, remember?" I asked. I felt him freeze. Crap. Why do I always find the wrong thing to say at exactly the wrong moment?

"Yeah, well, there is hardly a girl that doesn't talk about it...all the freaking time." He said, reaching over me to grab a blanket off of the chair and tucking it around me.

"I guess that is true." I said, pulling the left side of the blanket out from under me and throwing it over him as well. "You're staying."

"Elle." His voice had a strained tone to it. "I don't think that that is a good idea."

"Fine, scaredy cat. Go back to your own room." I said, faking an annoyed tone. "I'll just sit here by my own self, entirely alone."

Warren groaned as I snaked an arm around his neck, "You are to damned tempting. You'll be the death of me. Which is why I have to leave."

With that, he pulled my arms away and re-tucked me in, then kissed me goodnight.

"You know I'm just going to have to climb out of these covers to put on my pajamas." I said, looking up into his eyes.

"Well, go change and then I will just have to get you back into bed." He growled playfully, kissing the soft spot below my ear.

I giggled, "Clark hears you say that and it will be the death of you."

Warren frowned, "You don't think..."

"He's on rounds, Hotshot. Defiantly out of hearing range." I assured him. "Now shoo so I can change."

"I can't stay here?" Warren asked, putting his hands behind his head and stretching across the bed.

"No."

"I'll close my eyes." He promised, wagging his eyebrows.

"And then open at the most opportune time, correct? Shoo." Warren rolled his eyes and walked out of the room while I changed into a sports bra and some cotton pajama capris. "Okay, come tuck me in."

Warren came back in and pulled the covers back around me. "That good?"

"I can't believe this." I mused, laughing.

"What?" Warren asked, still leaning over me.

"Warren Peace being so...compliant." I joked. A glint sparked in Warren's eyes and he growled, his arms landing on either side of my head.

"Compliant?" He asked before crashing his lips onto mine. He pulled away, leaving me breathless. "Goodnight, Elle Brookes."

"Goodnight, Warren Peace." I said back, closing my eyes.

* * *

__

Flames were erupting all around me. I couldn't freeze them. My arms wouldn't move. Someone was laughing. There was pain. A pair of dark eyes flashed into my view. Something silver flashed. My heart was racing. The scene unfolded. Warren was standing there, looking at me lovingly. He walked toward me, unaware of the danger. The sinister laughter erupted again. A silver streak went forth from an arm. Red blood spilled onto the ground under Warren's feet. He still walked toward me, the knife hilt protruding from his chest. I was screaming loudly, but nothing was happening. A bloody hand clamped over my mouth. I felt my powers lash out. Warren disappeared. Poof. The knife that had been in his chest fell from the air and hit the ground, causing the dust it had fallen in to fly into the air.

_"Look what you did, girly. Neat trick. Should've been a magician." That terrifying voice laughed in my ear._

* * *

_**A/N: Well, what do you think? Jack is coming in for a reason, just so you know. I have a plan. I hope it works. So, yeah, tell me what you think.** _


	26. Falling Apart

__

Flames were erupting all around me. I couldn't freeze them. My arms wouldn't move. Someone was laughing. There was pain. A pair of dark eyes flashed into my view. Something silver flashed. My heart was racing. The scene unfolded. Warren was standing there, looking at me lovingly. He walked toward me, unaware of the danger. The sinister laughter erupted again. A silver streak went forth from an arm. Red blood spilled onto the ground under Warren's feet. He still walked toward me, the knife hilt protruding from his chest. I was screaming loudly, but nothing was happening. A bloody hand clamped over my mouth. I felt my powers lash out. Warren disappeared. Poof. The knife that had been in his chest fell from the air and hit the ground, causing the dust it had fallen in to fly into the air.

"Look what you did, girly. Neat trick. Should've been a magician." That terrifying voice laughed in my ear.

I sat straight up. Gasping for breath, I looked around my room. It was bathed in light coming from the bathroom that connected my room with Gavin's next door. Crawling out of bed and stumbling toward the bathroom, I managed to crash into half the furniture. With the pieces being nailed to the floor, you can guess who was the one who moved when I collided with them. Me. After falling on my butt a third time, I practically fell into the bathroom and gripped the edge of the sink. My vision was swimming and I could feel my stomach turning in knots.

A small knocking came from the door that locked Gavin out of mine. "Elle? Are you okay? I heard something crash."

"I'm fine." I said shakily.

"You don't sound fine." His voice said doubtfully.

"I am. Just not used to the way to space station moves after being on Earth so long. Makes me a bit sick." I lied, thinking up the excuse.

"Alright. Just knock if you need me." He said and I heard his socked feet shuffle away from the door.

I did not respond, but turned on the water and dosed my face with the cool liquid. Still trying to breath normally, I sank to the ground and salty tears started to mix with the water droplets that ran down my face. The doorknob behind me made a few metallic scraps before the door itself swung open and I felt Gavin hug me.

"Shh." He said, his chest rumbling and stroking my hair with his warm hands. It was the warmth that made me look up. It wasn't dirty blonde hair and green eyes that I saw, but long black hair and fierce, dark eyes.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" I croaked through sobs.

"Gavin came and got me when he heard you crying." He said softly in my ear. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I told him. I felt someone else come into the small bathroom and crouch down in front of me.

"Something's wrong. You don't cry like this unless you are mad or scared." This was Gavin. His emerald eyes shining with concern. I opened my mouth to insist nothing was wrong, but he cut me off. "You can't lie to me. I have known you too long."

I didn't say anything, just let my head fall against Warren's shoulder.

"Elle, come on. Tell us." Gavin coaxed, putting his hand on my shoulder.

Warren growled and I could feel him get hotter, "Leave her alone."

"Hey, I'm just trying to figure out why she's falling apart." Gavin argued, holding up his hands. "What happened?"

"Stop asking her questions." Warren warned, pulling me closer as if to protect me from my friend.

"Warren s-stop." I told him, trying to keep my voice normal and failing. "He's just worried about me."

"But-"

"Just stop." I whispered, curling into him. "I'll be okay, Gavin."

"But you aren't okay right now." He argued, his eyes conveying his worry.

"I just had a bad dream." I told him, trying to make him stop worrying.

"Bad dream? You haven't cried about a nightmare since we were kids." He countered, putting his hand back on my shoulder. "You sure it was just a nightmare?"

"No." I said meekly. It was also the fact that I 'poofed' my boyfriend. I had lost control of my powers.

"Then what else was it?" I looked at him and saw the worried expression on his face and started crying harder.

"Get out of here, Tyler." Warren growled, scooping me up into his lap and cradling me as he leaned against the wall. Gavin let go of my shoulder, but stayed sitting on the floor, watching me. I didn't stop crying for a long time. I just couldn't gain control. When the sobs finally subsided, exhaustion over took me and I could barely lift my head from Warren's bare chest. I slid in and out of sleep until I felt Warren lift me up and whisper for Gavin to turn on my light. I couldn't even open my tired eyes to see what they were doing.

"She never does this." Gavin mumbled, walking with Warren to the bed and pulling back the covers.

Warren grunted in response and gently placed me on the pillows.

"You know if she has had more of these nightmares?" He asked, dropping the sheet back over me.

Warren's tired voice replied, "She didn't tell me."

"You think they are about the thing with your dad?" I heard Warren growl and walk toward my door. Gavin didn't move. "Yo, Peace?"

"What?" He sounded mad at the noise Gavin was making.

"Look at this." I heard Warren cross back over to where Gavin was standing.

As sleep over took me, I heard Warren mumbled, "Shit."

* * *

"Good mornin', Duchess!" I heard a deep, Southern voice boom when my door banged open. "Wake up, darlin'."

"Go 'way." I grumbled into a pillow, pulling the sheet into my head. My eyes were sore and my throat was dry after my little bout of sobbing.

"No, ma'am. I am draggin' you down to that kitchen if I have to hog-tie you to get you down there." I looked up and glared threateningly at the cowboy, only able to see his eyes because of his red handkerchief.

"You wouldn't dare." I challenged.

"I wouldn't push it." He warned, coming closer, mirth playing in his eyes.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes, getting out of bed and walking toward the bathroom. "Let me brush me teeth."

"I'll be waiting outside the door." He told me.

I looked like a mess. My silver hair was sticking up and tangled and my eyes were still a bit bloodshot. I hoped that would go away in a few minutes. I grabbed my tooth brush and brushed my teeth, then went back in my room and tracked down a pony-tail holder in my bag and threw my hair up in a messy bun. I grabbed a shirt on the way out and threw it over the sports bra I had worn to bed, blushing slightly as I realized both boys had seen me in that the night before. Well, I suppose Warren had seen me before when he tucked me in.

"I'm waitin', Duchess." Vigilante drawled from the doorway.

"To bad." I growled, crossing my arms and glaring at him. I had never claimed to be a morning person.

"I hope you are in a brighter mood after you get some grits in you." He said, walking out the common room door.

"Grits? Grits! I am not eating your blasted grits. It's like eating mush." I cried, running after him. Grits. Yuck.

"Naw, I'm just messin' with you. We cooked you a surprise." He told me, his eyes grinning.

"GL's blueberry pancakes, your biscuits and gravy, and Ollie's omelets." I said matter-of-factly.

"You cheated." He accused as we turned a corner.

"You're predictable." I corrected, grinning up at him. His eyes narrowed and he mumbled something that was lost in his handkerchief. "What was that?"

"Nothin'. I swear you have Bat's hearing sometimes." He grumbled, adjusting his hat. I just laughed. We stopped in front of the mess hall kitchen doors. "I would cover my ears."

"Isn't it supposed to be 'cover your eyes'?"

"No," He chuckled, "I mean your ears."

I looked at his suspiciously and walked through the open doors, covering my ears.

"SURPRISE!" The noise was near deafening, with my ears covered. Most everyone but my Earth friends (who were blissfully sleeping in their beds. Luckies.) had gathered there. Which meant that between the superheros in the room, a couple were definitely supersonic sound wave emitting. That was definitely a wake-up call. Looking around at the smiling faces, I saw the only ones missing were Bruce, Clark, and Diana.

They were probably on rounds, I thought.

"Blueberry pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and omelets, served to order." Ollie beamed, his Robin Hood style hat replaced with a billowing chef's hat and a splattered apron. He brandished the full plate before me like it was a precious gift. Suddenly, it was jerked away and a red flash zoomed around the room. There was general outcry at the theft of my food and a tinkle of silverware as the blur passed the stand the utensils were placed in. Then, in a flash, Flash was beside me, a fork now stabbed into the pancakes and his arm around me.

"Picture!" He called and John rolled his eyes and snapped the camera as we smiled like idiots. "Now, the test."

He backed away slightly, holding the plate out for me.

I took it, grabbed the fork and shoved a bit of pancake in my mouth.

Grinning, knowing I had blueberry chunks in my teeth, I declared, "Somebody's gotten rusty!"

Everyone laughed and then the mad shuffle began to get to the food. I sat down at one of the tables and began to eat.

"My Duchess, how are thee this fair morning?" Flash asked, zipping in the seat beside me.

"I wish to be asleep. Was breakfast in bed to much to ask?" I joked, shoving a biscuit into my mouth.

"Yes." He smiled, making me roll my eyes.

"Your impossible." I laughed.

"I know." He grinned back.

The little gathering lasted almost an hour before everyone had to go to their various posts and I went to wake my friends up so that Vigilante could fix their biscuts and gravy and Ollie use the rest of the eggs.

Without thinking, I knocked on Gavin's first.

"Hey." He said, jerking open the door. His eyes were wide and his expression was slightly apprehensive. "You okay?"

Dang...and I had hoped he had forgotten.

"I'm fine." I dismissed, "It's time for breakfast."

"Food. Yes!" He shouted, following me as I walked toward everyone else's rooms. They all had similar reactions. Well, the boys minus Warren had similar reactions. Warren just nodded sleepily and went to find a shirt. Personally, I didn't think he needed it, but I suppose not everyone had the same bias I did.

As they ate with Ollie and Vigilante, I slipped out, excusing myself to the bathroom.

I didn't go to the bathroom.

I went to computer room. Flash was the only one in there, watching the monitor.

"Whatcha doin', Duchess." He asked as I sat down at one of the screens, rolling his chair over to me.

"Snooping." I answered, typing fast; I only had about twenty minutes before everyone would be finished and come to find me.

"What?"

"Gavin."

"Rich boy? Why?"

"Well, his family." I answered absently, scanning through files to find the ones I was looking for. "Here."

"His mother? What, think she is in cahoots with the baddies? That's going a bit far...She's the mayor's wife." He was spouting rapidly. I was not really paying much attention.

"It's not really like that." I stopped him. "I am trying to see what she was doing seven years ago. So, hold on a minute and let me look."

"Yes, ma'am." He complied, pushing off and landing in front of his monitor.

I ran through her profile. Nothing. So, I looked at her whereabouts.

I remembered a short time that Gavin's parents were on a 'break'. They didn't end up getting a divorce, but I knew it was somewhere around seven or eight years ago.

"Yes!" I exclaimed when I found a hospital form...from the pregnancy ward of a far away hospital.

"Found it?" Flash smirked.

"Yes." I said, looking at the form.

My face fell when I read the rest.

Baby was stillborn.

_People lie_, a voice whispered in the back of my head.

I looked ahead to five years ago. The only suspicious thing on there was a payment to a Sky High.

Yes, Sky High. Where I went to school.

Why would Gavin's parents even know about Sky High?

I tried to look into the payment.

It was a dead end. There was no stated reason why they would pay them anything.

But, I knew for a fact that Sky High had power-neutralizing transports that they used to take the detention kids home. I learned that when I punched Warren's ex in the face and got my week in there. Fun times.

Anyway, IF they had payed for the use of one of those transports to take Jack to the hospital when he was two, I wanted to know.

But there was no way in hell that Sky High would ever tell me.

And I wasn't exactly there to hack into the system. If they even had the same system as they had five years ago. For all I knew, all they had was paper copies.

Great. I was stuck.

Technology failed me.

I never thought I would see the day.

Seeing as I hit a road block on the personal file, I decided that I could probably manage to bribe Bruce to get me Jack's file. How I would do that, I didn't have a clue.

"I see you are making use of your resources." I voice came from behind me. I jumped about ten feet.

"How long have you been there?" I gasped, turning to look at Bruce, who was standing, arms crossed, behind my chair, watching me.

"You found out about the boy didn't you?" He asked, not even bothering with my question.

"Yeah." I answered shortly.

"Gavin doesn't know." He told me, as if he knew that was what I was really worrying about; that Gavin was lying to me. Sighing, he looked out the large window that covered the opposite wall. "His mother didn't...didn't want a freak."

I grimaced and turned back to the monitor. "Sounds familiar."

"Not everyone understands, Elle." He told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"They know about Sky High." I stated.

"Yes. Mayor Tyler gets a super-activity report on the villains once a month. He found out about the school that way." He supplied, coming around to lean against the giant keypad.

I stared straight ahead of me at the screen, contemplating what to do next.

I didn't need anything else to tell me about Jack, but I didn't feel like I had everything I was looking for.

"What now? Are you going to tell Gavin? Or are you going to keep silent?" Bruce asked, looking at me for an answer.

"Why are those my options?" I asked, annoyed.

"Because I know you, and you always do what you think is right. Which would be to either tell Gavin that he has a little brother-"

"That's not my place." I interrupted.

"You are his best friend." He pointed out.

True. I was that.

I pulled at a strand of hair,"I can't just tell Gavin...well, I just can't tell him that!"

"Tell Gavin what?" Dang, I have horrible timing.


	27. Gavin, the Shrink

a/n: Yeah, so it's been awhile since I have updated...sorry about that. It's been one crazy summer. Hopefully it won't be terribly long before I can update again. Enjoy!

p.s. this chap doesn't have much Warrren/Elle action...sorry about that too.

* * *

Crap. Crap. CRAP!

What the heck was I going to tell him?

The truth seemed like the obvious answer, but that was not exactly my place. It was the kind of thing a mom should tell her son.

But I couldn't exactly make something up and then have him find out that it was lie later. That would not be good.

Actually that would be horrendously suckish. Cause lying to one's best friend only makes the friendship complicated. I don't like complicated.

So, what to tell him?

I had nothing.

Gavin, filling the narrow doorway with his frame, was looking at me expectantly. I could only stare at him, my mouth opening and closing like a fish as if the right words would just spill out.

"Elle? What is it?" He asked, his green eyes questioning and worried.

"I...uh...it's nothing." I finally sputtered, looking to Bruce for help. He was just contently surveying us, silent. Damn it.

"Nothing? Really? Bull." Okay, so he didn't believe me. At all. "You can't lie to me."

"Obviously." I mumbled under my breath.

What the** hell** was I going to tell him?

_'Oh, see I met this kid at the hospital and **HEY **it's your little brother. Congratulations!'_

Yeah, that would so _not_ work.

"Why is my mom's profile on the screen?" Gavin suddenly asked.

Idiot! What was I thinking?

"Um." I groped for something to say, anything, that would keep me from having to tell him about Jack.

"Something happened." It wasn't a question. He wasn't stupid. Growling, he came up to Bruce and jabbed a finger in his direction. "I told you they needed guards with them. I told you."

"There are guards." Bruce told him coolly. "They're fine."

"Oh." Gavin said, stepping back. "Sorry."

"Okay." Bruce nodded.

"What is it then?" He asked, looking at me. I really wished I had a different power right then. Shrinkablity. Invisibility. Lie-ability.

I looked at Bruce, who shrugged and looked away. He was leaving this one in my ball park. Thanks a lot, Bruce.

"I'm going to find out eventually. You know I will." He told me.

I told myself that I was just going to have to say it. So, I did. "You have a little brother named Jack and he has magnetic abilities and he is currently residing in Gotham Hospital."

Now, I probably said all of that in about 1.3 seconds. Not kidding.

Gavin's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. Apparently he still understood me.

"W-what?" He sputtered, collapsing into a chair.

"You have a brother. He's seven." I told him gently, knowing this was a bit of a shock for him.

Suddenly, he started laughing, "Funny. That's hilarious."

I thought he might have gone crazy, so I just sat there, watching him.

When he realized that I wasn't laughing at my hilarious joke with him, he stopped abruptly. "You're not shitting with me."

Bruce clear his throat at Gavin's choice of words.

"Sorry." He muttered to him, still looking at me.

"Your parents didn't want him because he was a_ freak_. Sound familiar?" I spat, not waiting for him to ask me to continue. Gavin knew why I was with Bruce and how the...circumstances of the situation, in lack of better words, pissed me off to no end. "So they stuck him in his own little prison. The only good thing I could say for them is that they make sure that he is well cared for and not lying in the gutter."

Judging from is expression, I would have to say that Gavin was having an excruciatingly hard time wrapping his head around the news.

"Look, I know it's a lot to take in with the fact that there's this kid out there at shares the same parents as you, that your parents have lied to you for the past seven years, that they locked a kid away for being a super, and that you were completely out of loop on all of this, but I'm sure it will get better." Gavin looked at me, his eyes still wide and confused and nodded dumbly.

"Yeah, yeah. It'll be alright." He swallowed and blinked several times. "It's just...whoa."

I so did not handle that the right way. Apparently being eloquent was beyond my capabilities that morning.

"Yeah." I agreed, patting his back and glaring at Bruce for making me have no choice but to tell him. Now he was going to be bugging me about Jack and being all moody because he would be mad at his parents. A moody Gavin isn't a fun Gavin, by the way. He gets cranky and rude...well, come to think of it, he pretty much turns into Warren without all the pyrotechnics.

Okay, so it wasn't really Bruce's fault that I had to tell him, but...wait...it was _Bruce_ who left the door open for Gavin to just waltz in and listen to what I was say. It **was **his fault! It totally was!

I suddenly realized Gavin wasn't breathing, something he tends to do when he thinks really hard about something or is highly stressed...or both.

"Gav, breath!" I shouted, shaking him. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a 'whoosh'.

"This is insane." He gulped, trying to breath.

"I know." I said, patting his back. "Just think, when we get back to Earth, you will have a protege to train in the cunning art of flirtation. He's already showing promising signs."

Gavin chuckled hoarsely at my light-hearted attempt of a joke. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah." I said, being overly dramatic just to keep his mood up. "Didn't take him ten minutes before he dropped the first complaint. Complete with the trademark Tyler grin and all."

He let out a chuckle again and then something that sounded like a growl and punched out at the keyboard counter, his fist making a dull thud.

"They've been lying for years! Years!" He roared, jumping up. "They locked their own kid in a hospital and left him there!"

He went on and on, screaming and yelling about the situation and the language he lapsed into was not entirely English, therefore I can't record it for you to read. About halfway through his tirade, Bruce left after receiving a message on his comm unit. So, alone, I waited for him to calm down.

Finally, panting for breath and looking just as confused as when he started, Gavin choked on his words and covered his face with his hands. He wasn't going to cry, I knew that, but I wrapped him in a bear hug and held him tight.

"It will be okay." I whispered, stroking the back of his neck soothingly.

"They did exactly the same thing your parents did to you!" He growled, his arms coming around to hold onto me tightly, like I was the only sane anchor he could find.

"I know." I told him.

"I've been bitching about them for years and my parents did the same damned thing." He said hoarsely, burying his face in my shoulder. After a few minutes he pulled back, keeping his head turned from me. Neither of us spoke as he looked out the large window, literally staring into space, with his fingers dug into his hair. "I can't believe this." He finally rasped.

"I know."

"They told me it was stillborn." So, they had told him. Wow. I had to say that I was slightly surprised at that. Then again, he would have noticed that she was pregnant. Though when we were nine (a.k.a seven years ago) Gavin had a nanny and he spent ninty percent of his time with her rather than with his mother. "They said that something had gone wrong. That was why she had to stay at the retreat so much during the last few months, because there were problems."

"They didn't completely lie. There were probably a great number of problems. As the baby's powers developed it would have been like there was a magnet in your mother's stomach. Imagine if she had stayed at your house. There are metal objects everywhere. One stroll to the kitchen could end in a bloody mess. Maybe this is the better way. He can't hurt himself in that hospital." I couldn't believe what I was saying. I was condoning their actions. But I couldn't bear that hurt, betrayed look he had on his face.

"That's a lie and you know it." He growled, turning back toward me. I was surprised to see that his eyes were slightly bloodshot, from anger or tears, I wasn't sure. "They didn't have to keep him a secret from me."

"Having a child that powerful is dangerous. Maybe they were just afraid that you couldn't handle it." The surly look he gave me made me stop and think of what I had to say next. If I angered him too much with my voice of reason he would stop listening. "Not that I agree with how they did it. Abandoning him and everything. But if the supervillains got word of a kid with magnetic abilities just waiting to be honed...it could be disastrous."

"Still," He growled, obviously not able to disagree with what I had said. "They should have told me. Told somebody."

"True." I agreed. We sat in silence while I waited for him to say something. When I became clear he wasn't going to speak, I did. "What are you going to do?"

Gavin looked at me and his expression told me that he had no clue what-so-ever. I rose from the chair stood in front of him.

"How about this-when we get back to Earth, whenever that is, I will take you to see him. I promised him that I would drop by anyway. Sound good?" I asked. He seemed to think about it, then nodded, reaching out and hugging me to his chest.

"Thank you." He murmured, stepping back. "But what am I going to do about my parents? I can't just pretend I don't know."

"I don't know yet." I said, hating that disappointed look in his green eyes. "But we'll figure it out. Until then just try to look on the bright side. You have a little brother!"

"Yeah." He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I do."

I smiled back, glad that he was at least trying to see the good part of this. "Come on. They're probably wondering where we are."

"Yeah, Killer is probably wondering if I am trying to seduce you or something. He is insanely jealous, you know that?" He asked, flinging his arm around my shoulder, in a friendly fashion of course.

"Yeah, I can't say that I mind much. It would have never worked out between us anyway, my dear." I said in a sultry, dramatic movie star voice.

"No? Why not?" He asked, feigning a deep hurt and sorrow. He was joking. That gesture told me that he was going to be okay. Like me, he joked to feel better after something bad happened.

"I am just to wild for you, dear. Settling down is just not my cup of tea." I told him seriously, trying not to laugh.

"No? Too bad. I guess I will have to move on...somehow." He said dramatically, clutching his hand over his heart.

"I have a feeling you will have no problem with that, honey." I smirked, turning us down a hall that would be a shortcut to the rooms. "I know you."

He threw his head back and laughed, "Am I really that bad?"

"Yes." I replied without missing a beat.

"Dang that was quick reply." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "Kinda burned a little."

"You'll live." I told him, brushing it off with a wave of my hand.

"I suppose so." He tried glaring at me, but it just turned into a grin. "Gah, I missed this."

"What?" I asked.

"Me and you. Just like we used to be. Not crazies trying to kill us...none of my girlfriends trying to get to you...just us having fun." He told me, giving my shoulders a squeeze.

"Yeah, me too." I agreed. Then added, with a sly grin, "But I know you have fun helping us with Operation: Bribe the Bash."

He grinned and laughed, "True, true."

"I found them!" A voice bellowed, startling me because I hadn't really been paying attention to our surroundings. We were standing right outside the door to our suites.

Zach was grinning at us when he turn back, "I was the search party."

"Nice, but we weren't lost." I told him.

"Warren and Layla were getting worried." He said, shrugging.

"Layla?" Why would she be worried?

Zach's eyes flicked quickly to Gavin, then snapped back to me. "She...uh...thought she heard yelling or something."

"Oh, I see." I said, tightening my arm around Gavin slightly. "Well, we're both fine."

"I can see that." He smirked.

"Right." I said. There was a small silence and I gestured to the door. "Let's go in then."

"Right." Zach said, bounding toward the door and pushing the button. "I love doing that."

I laughed, "Your such a dork."

"And lovin' every minute of it!" He chortled, bounding into the room. "See, I am like a bloodhound...I can find _any_body."

"Nice, Zach, very nice." Layla chuckled, "Where were you two? We thought Gavin might have gotten lost."

"So, you sent the Glo-boy to find him? You all are a bright bunch." I told them, grinning as they caught what exactly I had said. Bright bunch. Haha, I have to laugh at my own corniness on that one.

"Hey, I got you back. Safe and sound." Zach pointed out loudly, standing in the middle of the small circle we had made around the furniture. "I am the **man**."

"We were right outside the door, Zach." I told him.

"Hush. Shhh." He brought a finger to his lips. "You're ruining my moment."

"Okay. Everybody shush while he has his moment." I said stifling a grin. For about two seconds, everyone was silence, then the whole room filled with giggles.

"Fine. Thanks, guys." Zach pouted, sitting down by Magenta on the couch. I settled down by Warren, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Your very welcome." I said, grinning evilly. "How was breakfast?"

"Good. Where were you?" Ethan asked.

"I had something to do." I said evasively, pointedly not looking at Gavin.

"What?" Why were my friends so nosey?

"Just had to look something up. No biggie." I shrugged, linking my arm through Warren's and hugging his bicep and burying my face in his shoulder, trying to get them to take the hint that I didn't want to tell him.

It didn't matter however, because a moment later there was a knock at the door and it slid open. Bruce walked in.

His eyes found Gavin and I, "Good, your here. I have something to tell all of you."

"Good news or bad news?" I asked quickly.

"Good I think." He said.

'I think?'

Right...it wasn't good news.

"You are all going to fail this year unless you go back to school." See, I told you it wasn't good news. Then he continued, "They know the serious danger that you are all in and made an exception."

"Whew. You scared me there for a minute...sir." Zach said, falling back onto the couch.

"Sorry." Bruce told him, "However, with this exception comes a change of scenery. You will all be moving into Sky High."

There was a sudden eruption of chatter in our small group.

"Please, listen." Bruce tried to silence us. Once we were all looking at him, he continued, "You will be moving into a closed wing of Sky High to participate in test program for team building."

"As in we are going to be a team?" I asked, looking around. "A real team? Like the Justice League?"

"In a way, yes. You will train and work as a super-team." He confirmed. "Sky High has been working with us to develop this program for a few years now. They felt that building duos is a thing of the past. Supervillains often work in teams. Superheroes must adjust to that. You all are going to be trained for the next six months and then, when an assignment arises, you will be placed in position. This team will be state of the art. You will incorporate the custom superhero training as well as a few other things."

"What other things?" I automatically asked.

"Undercover work, for one. It seems to have its uses." He told me. "And hand-to-hand combat. Anything we though might be helpful to the new generation of superheroes."

"What about me?" Gavin asked. Yeah, what about him? Where was he going to go?

"You will be training with them." Hell yeah! "Your particular set of skills will be indispensable in both their training and to you as the only powerless member of the team."

"You mean that I am going to be the weak link then? No thanks." Gavin remarked, crossing his arms and looking away from Bruce.

"Powers do not make a hero." Bruce informed him wisely, staring him down until Gavin looked ashamed. Bruce was, of course, a very good, very powerless, superhero.

"Wait." Will interrupted, his face showing his confusion. "Particular set of skills? What skills does he have?"

"That's his secret to tell." Bruce said, gesturing to my best friend.

Gavin uncrossed his arms, brushed a piece of invisible dust from his knee and looked around, "I am a trained spy."

"A spy?" Warren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know...spy." Gavin shrugged. Sensing an explanation was needed, he continued. "I am technically under oath to never speak of this, but seeing as we are going to be a team, I suppose I have to tell you."

He paused for a moment to make sure everyone was paying attention. Gosh, always the dramatist.

"Gav, just tell them and stop acting like its going to be Earth-shattering news." I told him. He gave me an irritated look and started to speak.

"Fine. As my best friend finds it highly important to bust my ego all the time..." He paused to glare pointedly. I ignored him. "There is a school in Gotham that masquerades as a prep school, but really its a spy school that puts out the top spies in the world. I started school there when I was ten. I can speak and write eight languages, blend into just about any crowd or culture, and I am probably the only one in this room who can kick Elle's ass at hand-to-hand combat."

"Sure." I said coolly.

"Well, she has been to chicken to actually fight me, but I have a feeling I could." He smirked at me.

"We'll see about that, Tyler." I said challengingly. "I am sure it will be part of team training to fight one another."

"Looking forward to it, Brookes." He smirked. "Anyway, I have been trained to pick any lock, infiltrate any inaccessible building, and, as you already know, disable bombs. I can do a lot more little nifty things, but I'm sure you don't want to hear about them."

The group continued to stare at him.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"I think you surprised them, Gav." I said quietly. "That tends to send people into a speechless state."

"I didn't think it was that surprising. You didn't go all cat-got-your-tongue when I told you." He said feigning a worried expression.

"We were ten and you didn't have nearly as many credentials back then." I told him grinning.

Ethan finally shook his head and said, "You mean you are like...like the next James Bond?"

At that I started rolling on the floor, over come by galls of laughter.

"Thanks, Elle." Gavin growled.

"I'm s-sorry." I said, still laughing. "But that is probably the most accurate description I have heard in a long time."

"I'm not that bad." He sulked, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

"Yes, you are." I said, wiping away the tears that had started to well up.

"Maybe." He grinned impishly, dropping his sullen act.

"Are you children finished?" Bruce asked reprovingly.

"Yes, sir." I saluted, knowing my tone irritated him.

"You will be moving into Sky High tomorrow. In the morning, we will be taking you to Gotham and then drive you to Maxville to retrieve anything you might want." He told us. "I would suggest you pack up everything you brought here tonight and only leave out what you need for in the morning. You will be getting up very early."

I groaned. I hate getting up early.

After Bruce left, my friends spent some time grilling Gavin on the ins and outs of his profession and Warren and I slipped off to a faraway corridor.

"So," He started nonchalantly. "Your nightmare...it was about my dad, wasn't it?"

"Mostly." I answered shortly.

"But it wasn't him that scared you, was it?" He asked softly.

"Nope." I said, not wanted to go on that stroll down Nightmare Lane. I had enough of the damned things at night, I didn't need to relive them during the day. "I was just flipping out over nothing. End of story."

"I don't believe you." He challenged, leaning against the wall and pulling me to him.

"You should." I told him, grinning, trying to prove to him that nothing was wrong.

"Ummm..."He seemed to consider it, looking up at the ceiling, then he looked back down at me with that devilish smirk of his. "No, I don't think I do."

The little smirk told me that he was going to stop asking about it...for now. Thank goodness. "Oh really?"

"Yeah." He said softly, his face drawing closer to mine.

"Well, I might just have to do something about that." I informed him lightly.

"And what would that something be?" He asked, his grin wide now.

I didn't answer, just covered his lips with mine, tangling my fingers in his hair. He responded very enthusiastically and let one hand trail up to my neck and into my silvery hair and the other tightly gripped my hip. Drawing away from him, breathless, I caught a boyish look on his usually serious face before he opened his eyes and looked around.

"No one comes down here, right?" He asked warily, as if just realizing that we were in an inescapable floating building that was home to my entire (largely male) family.

"All the time." I grinned, going in for another kiss to irritate him.

"You are trying to get me murdered," He murmured against my lips before continuing to kiss me senseless. Seriously guys, I couldn't have told you my left from my right at that moment.

---------------------

Packing was not exactly an overwhelming job. Everyone had only brought the pure essentials up to the Watchtower, which wasn't exactly much. I think Layla clocked in with the most, as she was the only girl who had not been incapacitated or incarcerated in Gotham Hospital. She had a hair dryer, curling iron, rather sizable make-up bag, and, of course, an alarm clock so she could still wake herself up at a god-awful hour. And how she managed to prove to Bruce that those were essentials, I'll never know.

I finished my packing, which wasn't exactly packing so much as taking stuff that I had left when I moved to Maxville. On the first day there, I had gone and hunted down all my belongings that had been left in the chaotic shuffling that was going on after the alien attack. That was when I realized exactly how long ago the attack had been. Five months or so. Amazing. Time had passed so fast.

"You going to be okay tonight?" Warren's voice came from my open doorway.

I turned, still folding on old sweatshirt that I had found. I focused on it instead of him. "Yeah, it was just a nightmare. No big deal."

"It sure seemed like a big deal last night." He said. I knew that he wanted to know what was going on, but there was no way in hell I was going to let him find out.

"It's fine." I growled, turning my back to him and stuffing the garment in my hand in the bag sitting on my bed.

I heard him sigh loudly, pad across the room, then felt his warm hands on my hips and his lips on my cheek. "Goodnight, Elle. Sweet dreams."

He withdrew, taking the heat that always surrounded him with him. "Goodnight" I returned, jerking the zipper on my bag closed, knowing that my dreams would probably be anything but sweet. I heard the door shut as I lifted my bag off of my bed and threw it in a chair.

"You're a terrible liar." A different voice came from the bathroom door.

"Well, luckily he didn't go to spy school to become a human polygraph." I said bitterly, throwing a furtive glare at Gavin.

"Too bad I did, right?" He smirked, easily gliding across my room without a sound. He lifted the bag I had just placed in the chair and sat down, tossing it to the floor.

"Leave me alone." I told him sharply.

"No." He said in a frustratingly chipper voice, "I don't think I will."

"Look, I don't need you to come in here and try to get me to tell you everything. Alright? I really just want you to go away." I said, picking my bag up off the floor and setting it on the desk.

"Well, that's really just too bad, now isn't it?" He smirked, knowing it was irritating me.

I didn't answer him.

That didn't really stop him though. Gavin could probably entertain himself with a one-sided conversation for a week if he felt like it. "I suppose you are avoiding talking to him about it?"

I pretended that I was looking for something on a bookshelf. It would have looked more convincing if there were more than three books on it.

"I thought so. You have a tendency to avoid stuff when it bothers you." He observed. I gave him a sharp look. He just raised an eyebrow. "It _does_ bother you, doesn't it?"

My silence prompted him to keep talking. Much more of his little ramblings and I was going to sucker-punch him. Bullshit if he thought he could beat me in hand-to-hand combat.

"I figured as much. See, you also have a problem talking about your problems." He told me, making a tent with his fingertips while his elbows rested on either arm of the chair. I suppose he thought he looked like a shrink. "This is a problem for you, isn't it?"

I left my bedroom and walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open.

Probably should have slammed it. Maybe then he would have got the point.

No. Gavin already had the point. He was ignoring it. Asshole.

"Yes, it is a problem. It's a problem because you lost control. You lost control and someone got hurt." He pressed, leaning forward in his chair. "That's why it bothers you, right?"

"Will you shut up?" I finally growled at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"So, because it bothers you, your subconscious takes it and twists it, making it worse. You have these nightmares that replays that lose of control over and over in different situations. Sometimes it's Battle...sometimes it's not." He was really getting into his 'shrink-mode' now, acting as if he was on the verge of a breakthrough. "But last night! Last night was the big one. Last night you really lost it. You saw it happen. You saw _him_ die...and it was your fault."

I am not exactly sure how I picked up the bottle of shampoo or how it ended up spiraling toward Gavin's head, but Gavin caught it as a catcher would a baseball.

"That wasn't very nice." He said reprovingly, shaking his head. "I am trying to help, Elle."

"Well you're doing a horrible job." I screamed, picking up the conditioner bottle, preparing to send it on the same path as the shampoo.

"Don't throw that." He commanded, pointing a finger at me.

That did it.

With a ragged yell, I chunked the bottle full-force at his head. Before he could even react to the flying conditioner, I was running at him. I hit him shortly after the bottle, tackling him to the floor.

I wasn't in control.

I started wrestling with him, both of us trying to suppress the other. The way he fought me only fueled my anger.

"Leave me ALONE!" I bellowed as I shoved as knee into his chest, rising up over him. I was pissed. He had pushed it to far.

Twisting somehow, he grabbed my foot, pulled, and then flipped me. "You are going to make yourself crazy if someone doesn't figure this out."

"Maybe I already am." I growled, catching him in the ribs with my elbow. He fell over, and I pinned him once again.

"No. I you aren't. And I'm not going to let you do that to yourself." He wheezed. I was sitting on his back with both of his arms bowed behind him, firmly in my grasp.

"You don't have to do anything. I can take care of myself." I told him bluntly, then had the breath knocked out of me as he jerked his hands away and pushed up, making me lose my balance and his heavy body to fall on top of me.

"You know that's a lie." He said, still out of breath. "Why are you pushing us away? Why won't you let us help?"

"Because I've turned into a monster!" I yelled, not thinking as I replied, trying to shove him away. "I can't control my actions and finally someone got hurt. I could have killed him!"

"You didn't." He countered, catching my hands as I pounded into his shoulder. "And you're not a monster."

"Prove it." I spat, straining to free my hands.

Gavin squeezed harder and stilled my arms. He gave me a hard look that told me he was all seriousness now. "You aren't a monster." He insisted, his green eyes pleading with me to believe him. "Monsters don't regret what they do."

I opened my mouth to retort, but found that I had nothing to say. He was right. Of course, he was right. Dammit.

"Get off." I finally growled through gritted teeth. Just because he was right didn't mean that I wasn't still mad at him for provoking me.

He complied, reaching down a hand for me after he rose. I didn't take it. I pushed myself off the ground and turned my back on him.

"Look, I know you don't want to, but talk to Killer about it. I am sure he knows about losing control." He advised me quietly.

"How would that help?" I growled. I didn't really care if it would help or not. I wasn't going to do it and was still keen on challenging Gavin's every directive.

"Think about it." He told me. "You lose control, they probably wouldn't feel much. They would just be gone. If he lost control, they would suffer more than you can possibly imagine. And if they survived, they would be in pain for every second for the rest of their lives. It would be worse for him."

I realized the truth in his words, but didn't want to admit it. "I'm tired, Gavin. Goodnight."

I didn't move until he left, afraid that my fragile self-control that I had gathered would falter and I would find myself tackling him again.

Climbing into bed, I wasn't even aware that I had fallen asleep before I was thrown head first into the fire...literally. It blazed all around me and all of my friends stood on the other side of the eight foot flames. Barron Battle was standing in them. I had to get through him. I knew that much. He lashed out with that damned knife and I felt a surge. Then everything was gone. Barron Battle...the flames...Warren...Gavin...Layla...Will, Ethan, Zach, Magenta. They were all gone.

I woke up screaming...breaking that haunting silence.


	28. Sector X

**A/N: Eh, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I hope it gets all the little things that are packed in there down so that I can move on past this filler. As always, Enjoy!**

* * *

Before the scream died in my throat, Gavin was bursting through my door. Tears were already pouring down my cheeks. Damn.

"Nightmare?" He asked, slightly wild eyed and completely disheveled.

I swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, yeah. It's fine. Go back to bed."

He ran his hand over his short hair, not managing to get the one side to lay flat. "Liar."

I nodded again. "Yeah. Just go back to sleep. Sorry."

"You want me to go get Killer for you?" He asked, not looking at me, but around the darkened room with a trained eye.

In my confused half-asleep/ half-scared shit-less state, I didn't even think about the fact that it was obvious he was searching for something. I should have figured out then that something was up.

"Don't you dare!" I screeched. He was the absolute last person I wanted to see right then.

"Well I don't want you in here by yourself." I didn't want me in here by myself either! But after just seeing myself disintegrate my friends and boyfriend, I wasn't about to run to any of them. "Come stay in my room, I'll sleep in a chair or something. Come on."

I started to protest when he marched himself across the room, picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, blankets and all, and carried me into his room. Gavin lifting me surprised me into submission. He was not exactly buff as Warren, but apparently the boy had some muscle. After depositing me onto his bed, he snatched up his own pillow and blanket, placed them on the floor. He had methodically placed himself between me and the bathroom door.

"Don't even think about leaving. I don't want you to have another nightmare and end up like you did last night." He warned me, kneeling on his pallet of blankets and arranging his pillows to his liking. "I _will _drag your butt back in here."

Using my blanket to wipe away the tear tracks, I scooted across the large bed. "Get back up here, Gavin. I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor."

"Killer will fry me." He laughed, punching the pillow down, "No thank you. I'll be fine."

"Fine. But don't blame me when you are sore in the morning." I told him, rolling over and burrowing into the blankets.

"Oh, don't worry, I will." I could just hear the smirk as he said it.

"Loser." I drawled, smiling into my pillow.

"Yes," I snapped my head around. He agreed? "You are."

He was grinning at me over his shoulder.

"I hate you." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No you don't. I know about you secret best-friend crush." He told me, acting as if he had caught me red-handed stealing the Mona Lisa. "It's okay of course. I mean, I know I am just so damn sexy and all. You can't help yourself."

I pulled my pillow out and swung it at his head. "Shut your sexy mouth then."

"Oh, so I am sexy? Yes!" He pumped a fist in the air.

"Goodnight, Gavin." I said exasperatedly.

"Night, love." He grinned, waggling an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and turned over.

------

It was early when I woke up. I was slightly disoriented when I sat up and saw that I was in the wrong room. Then I remembered that damned dream.

Gavin wasn't on the floor anymore. In his place lay his folded blanket topped off with his pillow. A panicked feeling had started to well up in me until I made the connection that when people 'poof' they don't tend to fold their blankets. That calmed me down.

"Gavin? Where are you?" The bathroom door was open, so I knew he wasn't in the shower.

"In your room." His voice called from the other room.

"What are you doing in there?" I asked, immediately leaping out of his bed and bounding to my own room. Gavin was standing by my bed, holding a plastic cup that I had brought into the room the night before.

"I figured I would let you sleep and clean up for you." He told me in a very nonchalant voice.

Oh, that was nice of him.

And a little more than highly suspicious.

"Uh...thanks. I guess." I asked, eyeing him questioningly. There had to be a reason.

He seemed to realize that I was suspicious of him. "Look, this is the one time I am going to be nice...ever. So, will you just accept that I pretty much feel kinda bad and want to do something completely out of character and help you. Capisce?"

I was pretty much cleaning the floor with my chin. Had he really just said that? Dumbly, I nodded.

"Thank you." He said seriously, then flashed a grin, like nothing was out of the ordinary. Still holding the cup with a candy bar wrapper stuffed in the top, he strolled over to where I was standing in the bathroom door. "But, seeing as you're awake..."

He pushed me aside, weaseled through the door, and shut it. Right. In. My. Face.

"I have to take a shower!" I screeched, banging on the door.

"Too late!" He laughed, turning on the water.

While waiting very_ patiently_ for my turn in the shower, Bruce paged me over the intercom in my room. _"Are you awake?"_

"Unfortunately." I responded sourly. I had been waiting thirty minutes by then and I was _not_ a happy camper.

_"Well, can you make sure everyone else is awake? We will leave in about an hour and a half after everyone has eaten." _

"How are we getting back to Maxville?" I was hoping he would say that I could drive.

_"Groups of you have been assigned guards depending on where you live." _Dang it._ "You will be with Layla and Will." _

"What about Gavin? Going to Maxville won't do him much good." Actually it would be flat out pointless.

_"He's has to meet with the headmaster of his school. He can get his what he needs from his penthouse. I don't think that he wants to go home right now, do you?." _

"Yeah, probably not the best idea. Anything else?"

_"Just make sure everyone is awake and at the mess hall in an hour." _

"Sure thing. See ya, Bruce." I called, already pounding on the bathroom door. Over the spray of water, I could heard the shower door open slightly.

"What?" Gavin yelled.

"Bruce said to be in the mess hall in an hour. So, when I come back you better be out of that shower!" I warned him.

"And what if I'm not?" He challenged.

"Believe me, you'll regret it." I told him sinisterly.

"Sure." He replied disbelievingly.

I took great joy in lowering the temperature of the water coming out of the shower to about 40 degrees. That'll teach him.

A loud howl came from the otherside of the door and I heard the sound of frantic fumbling as Gavin tried to free himself from the icy water.

I'm so evil. Hehe.

Ha.

Sprinting out of the room, because Gavin would likely burst through that door as soon as he could locate a towel, I stopped dead center and screamed at the top of my lungs, "FIRE!"

You know how fast people react when they hear that word? It's quite amazing actually. It's like they suddenly start channeling some sort of cheetah speed ability.

Besides Gavin's and unsurprisingly Warren's, all the doors flew open and four very disoriented people came barreling out. Layla, as always, was already up and at 'em fully dressed and giving me an amused look.

"Oh, sorry...false alarm." I said in my most innocent voice, smiling at my friends. They didn't smile back. "But, since you're up anyway, they told me to tell you that we need to be at the mess hall in an hour. So, hop to it."

Zach said something, but it wasn't exactly in a known language. Magenta patted his arm and led him to her room. Aww, how sweet.

"You should probably scrape Ethan off the couch." Layla giggled as she wrapped her arms around Will, who sagged against her shoulder, already half-asleep.

I took in the site of my orange clad friend...melting onto the side of the couch as he leaned against it.

"Ethan, wakey wakey." I said, shaking his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, I'm up...I'm up." He murmured, pushing himself off the couch and stumbling back into his room.

A furious yell came from behind me, prompting me to run toward Warren's door, pressing the button and entering before a extremely irritated towel-clad, dripping wet Gavin could catch me. He made it within a foot of the door before I slid it shut. "Sorry, the door seems to be closed."

"I'm going to kill you, Brookes. Just wait!" He threatened hitting the door once before growling and stomping back across the common room.

"What the hell are y'all doing out there?" Warren sleepily growled, his face half-buried in the pillow he had encased in his arms.

"Well, you missed the fire. I'm glad to know you were so worried about our well being." I told him reprovingly, sitting down on his bed.

"There are sprinklers." He pointed out, not hiding that little grin that was creeping up on his face.

"They might have been broken." I countered stubbornly.

"Well, you do have water power. You could have put it out." He told me, shrugging and closing his eyes as if it was the least of his concerns.

I huffed. The nerve!

"Didn't you care? Just a little?" I asked, leaning in toward him.

He looked up, stared me straight in the face, and said, "Nope."

"Uh! How rude!" I crowed, shoving him playfully.

"I know." He smirked. Butthead! My bottom lip pouted and I crossed my arms angrily. He rolled his eyes and leaned up half-backwards to kiss my lips, erasing the pout. "Good morning."

"Morning, Hotshot." I giggled, throwing away my angered act and throwing my arms around his bare shoulders and back. Mmm, muscles.

He awkwardly rolled over and captured me in his arms and dragged me down beside him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great!" I lied, closing my eyes and kissing him so that I didn't have to look at him when I said it. Pulling away, I fell against his pillow, snuggling into the warmth he had left on it.

"What was Gavin yelling about?" He asked, laying back down on his pillow beside me, our noses touching.

"I turned his nice, hot shower into an ice bath." Warren's laugh rumbled through his chest, making me draw closer to him. I loved to hear him laugh. It was like eating ice cream. You could never get enough. Regretfully, I pushed back slightly, sighing. "But, speaking of showers, I have to take one."

I kissed his cheek and pulled away, only to be wrangled back in by one tan, muscled arm. "No you don't."

"I stink." I told him. Actually, I probably smelled like Gavin, seeing as he wears cologne and it was his bed that I had slept in the night before. Which Warren would probably get a wiff of if he kept pulling me to him. Which would probably lead to him getting jealous. Which would not be good. Which is the reason I needed to take a shower. I like that word...which you can tell. "And you need to get up."

"You know," He said casually, not letting me go. "You could always use _my_ shower."

I laughed out loud, "Do you not have to take a shower? I don't think there is enough time for_ both_ of us to."

"Oh, well, I guess we can just compromise." He was grinning against my neck now, leaving a few kisses as he pulled me closer.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" I asked. No, I'm not stupid. I knew exactly where this was going.

"Well, it wouldn't take up to much time if we were in there at the same time."

I paused to act as if I were seriously considering it, then leaned in and whispered, "X-Ray vision."

"Damn" He grumbled, letting go of me and stretching his arms high above his head, the blanket falling away from his bare torso in the process.

Can you say 'yum'?

With a groan (for having to leave that gorgeous body sitting oh-so-conveniently on a bed), I turned and pulled myself into the bathroom. I locked it, just in case. Gavin was most likely out for revenge and frankly, I wouldn't put it past him to try something while I was in there. When I got out, I pulled the water off of me and dumped it with a splash back into the tub. I didn't want to have to go beg Layla for her blow dryer on account of it would probably end with me being tied to a chair with vines while I was being "styled" to Layla's image of perfection. Not cool.

When I got back into the common room, everyone was waiting for Magenta and I. Magenta was still having a bit of trouble getting around, but she was refusing to let anyone help her. Can't say I would either, so I didn't say anything.

Breakfast was waiting when we all got to the mess hall.

"Hurry up and eat. We will be need to be leaving within thirty minutes." Diana told everyone. I noticed all the boys surveying her with interest. I had to roll my eyes. She certainly knew how to get the rooms attention. If it wasn't by her mere presence...it was by the outfit.

Gavin was within elbowing distance and I jabbed him sharply in the side. "Quit drooling."

"She was my bodyguard." He grinned boyishly, still watching her.

"I'm sure you got all kinds of innuendos out of that situation." I said dryly, biting off a piece of toast.

"Oh, you know it." He laughed, shoving a biscut in his mouth. "Wanna hear 'em?"

"No, thank you. I'm eating." I told him, taking a bite of eggs to prove my point. Does he listen to me? Of course not. It's Gavin.

As I sat eating my breakfast, Gavin proceeded to offend my ears with his comments until Layla and Warren finally came to my rescue. Thank the Lord.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

After cramming into the shuttle, flying down to Gotham, finding out that it was actually about six in the morning (I was not exactly happy about that one), and fighting with Bruce to let me drive, we were on our way to Maxville with Clark driving Will, Layla, and I to our houses.

"What do we need?" Layla asked. "How long will we be there?"

"Until the end of the school year." Clark told her. I groaned. This was going to suck. Sky High rocked, don't get me wrong, but being stuck in a floating building with the same people all the time, even if they were your best friends, would eventually get old. "We asked your parents to pack up your things so that they would be ready to go. They put what they thought you needed into boxes already. You have an hour to get everything else you need while I bring the boxes down."

Mrs. Williams had graciously packed my things as well as Layla's and pretty much had everything I needed in the boxes.

We helped cart the remaining few boxes down with Clark and loaded up the SUV we were in and hit the road.

A Sky High bus was waiting for us when we got to the rendezvous point. We were the first ones. Waiting was boring. Will, Layla, and I even resorted to humming the Jeopardy music. Bah duh duh duh bah duh duh BUH buh duh duh buh buh dun...you get the picture.

FINALLY!, the rest of the gang got there and we were bused to Sky High where we were lead this way...then that way...then that other way...then this-a-way...and then we came to a wall. Yeah, a flippin' wall. _That _was going to get us somewhere for sure.

"Hey, wasn't this the wall we put Speed through Freshman year?" Ethan turned to ask Warren.

"Yeah, I think it is," Warren said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Funny shit."

"Heck yeah." Ethan hooted, holding his hand up for a high five from Hotshot. He got a 'look'. His hand fell. Good idea, Ethan.

"So, how do we get through this thing?" I asked Principal Powers, who was guiding us through the halls.

"We logged your biometrics into a scanner. All you have to do is touch the wall and it will slide away." She demonstrated by placing her palm against the wall. It started to move to the right, leaving an opening about eight feet wide for us to enter through. Very Scooby-doo-ish. Pull a book, find a door. Little different, but oh well, you get the point. "You will not be able to leave this part of the school for any reason during school hours and for certain periods of time when I will tell you, special events and such. This side of the building has been converted to a living style area very quickly so it won't have all the perks of home. You will be rooming in old classrooms that have been furnished with beds, desks, rugs, and lamps. You will each have your own rooms. The bathrooms are going to be a bit of a situation, however. You will have to use the toilets in the Girl's and Boy's restrooms down the hall and you will have to use the showers in the locker rooms in the gym area."

"The school's gym? I didn't think we were allowed to leave." Layla spoke up. Good point. It was going to be miserable if we had to wake up at five every morning just to get a shower.

Powers shook her head, "No, Sector X has it's own gym, science lab, classrooms, cafeteria and kitchen area, everything you need to both train and attend classes without entering the main building."

"Sector X?" I said, raising an eyebrow at the name. How...original...not.

"Yes." She said, raising her own eyebrow challengingly in response to my own. I let it drop. "Your instructors will be here tomorrow at eight. You have today to unpack and get everything organized in your rooms. Be dressed in your uniforms and out in the hall in time to meet your new teachers."

"Uniforms?" Ethan questioned.

Seriously? Uniforms? No!

"Yes, your first class will be a morning work-out with your trainers. We have placed several pairs of gym shorts, t-shirts, and tank tops in your rooms already." Principal Power told us.

Okay, whew, I was thinking kacki pants, skirts, and polos there for a second. Not cute.

Wait!

MORNING WORKOUT!

No, no, no, nooooo...

That was not fair.

Totally and completely not fair.

I didn't think that it was really a good idea for me to complain though, so I kept my mouth shut.

Prinicpal Powers showed us our rooms and left us to go run the school.

"They are just giving us free reign of the whole place?" Zach asked.

"I suppose." I shrugged. "They didn't say we had to do anything today."

"Alright then," Zach said, whipping off the bottem of his Nikes, "Race you slow-pokes to the gym, first one there gets to be first captain for a little game of B-ball."

Like the pack of crazy teenagers we were, we took off after him as he sprinted away.

* * *

**A/N: So, what do you think? I'd love to hear, maybe this time I will even have the opportunity to respond to more of them. Review, please :)**


	29. NOTE TO READERS

NOT A CHAPTER...sorry :(

Hey readers,

Please put down the rotten fruit!...PLEASE!!!

Okay, so I know it has been about four months since I updated. I apologize. I have been quite busy and I'm afraid **Icy Lips, Burnt Heart** is, unfortunately, lower on my priority totem pole.

This next week, however, I plan to reread the story and make a few changes and hopefully submit one (if not two) new chapters.

Sorry for the lack of updating.

Love you guys,

StarArrow


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